We Used to Be Heroes
by twentythirteen
Summary: Six years have passed since the fall of the Empire, and Tatsumi has ruled the Central Country ever since. Though his crusade to root out all corruption continues, Tatsumi finds the pain of his past to be a difficult obstacle to overcome. However, when an old friend returns and a new threat emerges on the horizon, Tatsumi realizes that he must push himself harder than ever before.
1. Kill the Sorrow

A young man with long, messy brown hair and moss-green eyes sat at a desk inside a small tent. He rubbed the stubble on his chin as he looked over the document he was holding, a nearby candle providing the only source of light.

He wore a large red cloak pinned at his shoulder with a brooch in the shape of a silver dragon, and underneath his cloak was the standard uniform of a general in the Imperial Army. He was tall and muscular, his body hardened by years of physical combat. Hanging from his belt was a strange-looking sword: the Imperial Arms known as Incursio.

Tatsumi yawned as he flipped to the next page of the document. He was reading a report written by one of his generals currently stationed in the South, and for once he received pleasant news.

 _Looks like everything is calm down there,_ he thought as he finished reading. _Wish I could say the same about here._

Tatsumi was currently in the Eastern Sector of the Empire. For the past few months, the East had been the site of a series of rebellions. At first Tatsumi had dismissed them as harmless, but he soon began taking the threat seriously after a few military garrisons were overrun.

Now he was personally in the East, and he wanted to make sure that the rebellion was crushed once and for all. The Imperial Army had finally cornered the rebels, and General Nuba had assured him that the rebellion would be crushed today.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. _I guess I'm the one fighting rebellions now. Who would have guessed._

The tent flap suddenly opened, letting light into the dark space. A muscular, tan-skinned woman entered. She had white, neck-length hair and bright gold eyes, and she wore the white uniform that all female Imperial Generals wore. The huge axe strapped to her back dripped blood onto the tent floor.

She saluted. "Your Majesty."

Tatsumi nodded. "General Nuba. I assume this means it's over?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The rebel forces have been defeated, and several key figures in the rebellion have been captured. The others were all killed in battle."

"Good," Tatsumi replied. "Where is the rest of the army? I didn't hear them approach."

"They are still inside the city, finishing off the stragglers."

Tatsumi rested his head on his fist. "... They're behaving themselves?"

General Nuba looked confused. "... Your Majesty?"

"They're not doing anything illegal, right?" Tatsumi clarified. "Your job was to eliminate the rebel forces, not terrorize the townspeople."

"Of course, Your Majesty. To my knowledge, there has not been any misconduct."

Tatsumi knew that was probably a lie, but he couldn't do anything about it. Back when he fought with the Revolutionary Army, the soldiers all had a common cause and were motivated to defeat the enemy. Imperial towns and cities also welcomed the revolutionaries, so the army had no desire to pillage or destroy the cities they conquered.

Now, however, Tatsumi's army was simply fighting on orders, and they did not have some cause they believed strongly in. Enemy towns and cities were often hostile as well, so the main motivation for the soldiers was the chance to rape and loot when the battle was over. Tatsumi disliked this, but he was forced to operate on the 'out of sight, out of mind' principle if he wanted his soldiers to continue fighting for him.

He dismissed General Nuba and sat silently at his desk. The Empire that he ruled over was victorious once again, but there was no sense of satisfaction for Tatsumi. As usual, all he felt were the constant, painful pangs of loneliness and sadness that coursed through his being.

He gripped his wooden desk and tried to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. The rebellion in the East had started because he had raised taxes on the region. The Eastern Sector had once enjoyed a relatively tax-free lifestyle thanks to the patronage of the corrupt Minister Honest, who hailed from the region.

However, now that Tatsumi was in control, he had raised their taxes so that he could lower the artificially-high taxes in the other parts of the Empire. Though Tatsumi felt that this move was just, he could see how people living in the Eastern Sector could interpret the tax increase as an oppressive and vengeful act.

 _It had to be done,_ he thought to himself.

The tent flap opened again, and this time a graceful man with light blue hair entered. The man wore luxurious imperial robes, and his face was smooth and handsome. His wavy hair was tied in a low ponytail, and he had sparkling blue eyes. This was the new minister, Orick Elcurus.

"Yes, Minister Elcurus?" Tatsumi asked as the man entered.

The Minister bowed. "Forgive the intrusion, sire, but the funeral begins soon... If you wish, I could delay it until -"

"No, no," Tatsumi interrupted as he rose from his seat. "Things have wrapped up here. I'll leave you in charge of the rest."

"As you wish, sire," Orick replied, his head still bowed as Tatsumi left the tent.

Tatsumi was not very fond of his new minister. Orick Elcurus had been selected from a wealthy, noble family in order to appease the aristocracy, so Tatsumi despised him from the very beginning. Tatsumi hadn't had a single good experience with the wealthy, so he was not very supportive of the move. Nevertheless, all the revolutionary leaders as well as Najenda had convinced him it was necessary, so he relented.

 _Boss…_

Tatsumi's thoughts shifted to the former leader of Night Raid. General Najenda had died yesterday morning. Though she was still young, the repeated usage of her Imperial Arms had taken its toll on her life. The funeral was today, and therefore Tatsumi had to rush back to the Capital.

He walked through the relatively-empty camp until he reached a clearing. He took a breath and reluctantly pulled Incursio from its sheath.

Tatsumi stared at the sword for a moment before closing his eyes and focusing his energy. A demonic aura then began to surround him, and in a flash, he had transformed.

Instead of a set of armor, Incursio now turned Tatsumi into a slightly-downsized version of the dragon danger beast the Imperial Arms was based off. This shift from armor to biological tissue was the result of repeated forced transformations, but Tatsumi had long since learned how to control his draconic form. Even so, the transformation was still unpleasant, and every time Tatsumi used his Imperial Arms he heard the disturbed ramblings of the dragon and his brain became flooded with the urge to kill and destroy.

Tatsumi suppressed the roaring and screeching in the back of his mind and spread his wings and leapt into the air. Soon enough, he was flying.

 _This will be a much faster method of getting back to the Capital._

The emperor cut through the air with practiced ease, and he continued onwards in the direction of the Capital. A few hours went by before the sprawling metropolis came into sight, but Tatsumi was far from being tired. Though Incursio took a toll on his sanity, it certainly gave him much more strength and stamina.

The funeral would be held in the Imperial Palace, so Tatsumi headed towards the large, imposing castle. He flapped his wings a couple times in order to slow his momentum before landing on the bridge that led into the main entrance of the palace.

His claws clacked as they touched down on the stone bridge, and he turned his red eyes to glance at the guards that stood watch over the entrance. The two men stood steadfast as they saluted their emperor, but Tatsumi could smell the fear radiating off them.

He sighed internally as he returned to his human form, wordlessly striding past the guards and heading inside the palace. Tatsumi followed the plush red carpet until he arrived at the throne room.

The spacious room was currently packed with people, most of them former officers in the Revolutionary Army. Many of them saluted or bowed when they saw Tatsumi, but he paid them no mind.

At the front of the room and at the foot of the small set of stairs that led up to the throne was the casket. Najenda's lifeless body rested inside of the sleek container, her expression peaceful. She wore her favorite black suit, and her green metallic arm was also visible.

A strange feeling came over Tatsumi as he stared at the corpse. _I wonder, Boss… Were you proud of me?_

"So you're back. I almost thought you'd miss it."

Tatsumi whirled around to see his old friend, Leone. The blonde woman was seated in a wheelchair, as she had suffered a spinal injury after being shot and pushed off the balcony by Minister Honest during the final assault on the palace six years ago. She had since traded her provocative garb for more ornate imperial robes, and she had grown her golden locks longer as well.

"As if I would miss this. The Boss would kill me if I didn't show up to her funeral," Tatsumi replied. He tried to smile, but failed.

Leone wheeled herself so that she was beside Tatsumi.

"We all knew this would happen eventually," Leone sighed as she gazed softly at Najenda's corpse.

Tatsumi didn't know how to respond to that, so he decided to change the subject.

"... Did Wave and Kurome happen to stop by?"

Leone raised an eyebrow. "Why would they? Najenda wasn't their commanding officer."

Tatsumi shrugged. He didn't bother asking the other question on both their minds. They already knew the answer.

After a few minutes, the funeral processions started. All in all, it was a quick and depressing affair. There were no speeches made, and Najenda's body was carted off after a ceremonious twenty-one gun salute. The attendees began filtering out of the room, leaving Tatsumi and Leone alone together.

"I guess I should be going too," Leone then said. "I still hate you for appointing me Minister of the Interior, by the way. I've got so much less free time on my hands now."

"Oh, shut up. Nobody knows the interests of the common people better than you do," Tatsumi responded as he grabbed the handles of her wheelchair. "I'll escort you to your office if it will make you feel better."

Leone frowned and crossed her arms. "I don't need to be pushed around. I can get there on my own."

"I'm aware of that. It's just that I haven't seen you in a while. Is it wrong to want to spend time with you?"

Leone smirked. "Oh? I always knew you liked me that way, Tatsumi, but for you to confess your love for me at a funeral..."

Tatsumi gave a resigned sigh. "You're still the same as always, Leone."

"Well, one of us has to be," Leone replied with a laugh. "You're a bitter, depressed bastard nowadays, and even the Boss seemed a little down for the past couple years."

"What can I say," Tatsumi said as the pair arrived at another large room. "I'm glad that you can still smile after all that's happened, at the very least."

Leone shrugged. "If you don't try to be happy, you're just causing yourself more unnecessary pain. Right?"

Tatsumi let go of her wheelchair. "I guess. I don't know."

Leone shook her head. "You really need to cheer up. What do you think Bulat would say if he saw you now? Or Mine? I doubt anyone of our dead friends would want for us to be wallowing in our misery. That's not what they sacrificed themselves for."

"Then what _did_ they die for?" Tatsumi asked, his green eyes dull and empty. "We haven't even accomplished much since the Revolution. There's still so much corruption and violence in the Empire. Our victory has changed nothing."

Leone rammed her wheelchair into Tatsumi's shin, causing the emperor to yelp in pain.

"God damn it, Leone!" Tatsumi cursed as he rubbed his leg.

"That's what you get for being such a pussy!" she yelled. "You're an idiot if you think we could completely change the Empire in only six years. These things take time!"

"I know but…" Tatsumi's face fell. "We don't even have the Boss to guide us anymore. I… I just don't know what to do."

Leone smiled softly at him and wheeled herself beside him. She patted his leg lightly. "You'll figure it out. You've always come through when we've needed you."

"... Yeah. There's only two of us now, though. Was everything we went through really worth it?"

"Of course! I'd rather be dead than living under that corrupt Empire, and I'm sure everyone else in Night Raid would agree with that. Besides, there's three of us left, not two."

Tatsumi closed his eyes. Another pang of sorrow shot through his heart. "... We haven't seen Akame in six years. She could be dead for all we know."

Leone smacked him again. "Don't say things like that! Besides, do you really think there's anyone who could kill Akame? I'm sure she's fine."

"... Is that really much better, though?" Tatsumi asked, his gaze hardening. "If she is alive, that means she is deliberately avoiding us. She didn't even show up for the Boss' funeral."

A sullen expression took over Leone's face. "She's probably just busy. Akame has her own ways of dealing with grief."

Tatsumi frowned. "By leaving and then never coming back? What kind of remedy is that! What about us? Doesn't she realize that we need her?"

Leone wheeled over to the mahogany desk at the other side of the room, hiding her face from Tatsumi. "Complaining won't do us any good. It doesn't matter if Akame comes back or not. We have jobs to do, and we have to do them regardless of whether or not she's with us. Am I right?"

Tatsumi clenched his fists. "... I know."

"Good." She turned around to face Tatsumi, her golden eyes hopeful. "Are you staying in the Capital for a while or do you have somewhere else to be again?"

"I'm staying. I have an important meeting later today in the palace."

"Really? About what?" Leone asked, suddenly curious.

"The three kings from the North, West, and South are supposed to arrive today," Tatsumi replied. "As an important government official, shouldn't you already know this?"

Leone folded her arms behind her head and scowled. "Nobody ever tells me anything."

Tatsumi sighed. "Right. Well, now you know. I've got to go prepare for that, but I'll see you at dinner, I guess."

Leone smiled brightly at him. "Yep! Good luck!"

Tatsumi waved goodbye before heading off towards his own quarters. He always enjoyed talking with Leone, though he couldn't help but feel a bit sad whenever he saw her as well. The once powerful warrior was now confined to a wheelchair, her Imperial Arms and her mobility destroyed. Though Leone put on a brave face and confident persona, Tatsumi knew that she had just as many if not more problems than he himself did.

 _And yet I'm the one who's walking around like I'm a reanimated corpse,_ Tatsumi thought angrily. _I'm pathetic._

When he got to his room, he unclipped his cloak and tossed it onto the luxurious bed. He briefly spared a glance at his reflection in the mirror but quickly looked away in disgust.

He sat down on the bed and buried his face in his hands. He was in no mood for any sort of meeting or interaction with other humans, but he had no choice. This was one conference he could not miss.

As he sat in silence, Tatsumi found himself thinking of Akame. He didn't know whether to feel angry or sad at the thought of his absent friend, so he settled on oscillating between both.

 _How could she just leave like that?_

Tatsumi himself didn't even fully remember the final battle of the Revolution. He recalled fighting the enormous Imperial Arms commanded by the previous emperor, and he did remember destroying it. After that, though, everything was a blur of pain and exhaustion, and his next memory was of him waking up in a soft bed inside the palace.

His heart ached when he remembered how Akame had cried and held him when she saw that he had awoken and was safe. The next day, she was gone. The Boss had told him that she went off on a short journey, so Tatsumi had sucked it up and continued with his recovery. However, he never anticipated that she would be gone for six years.

He lay down on the bed, his hands folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. _Maybe she is dead._

Though Tatsumi had to admit that not much could kill Akame, he still could not rule out the possibility that she had died alone somewhere in a distant land. As much as he hated her for leaving, it would pain him much more if she actually were dead.

The emperor grit his teeth. _Leone was right. I am being a pussy. I have to suck it up and continue onwards._

Tatsumi stood up and put his cloak back on, a determined glint shining in his eyes. It was pointless to fret over things he had no control over.

He decided that he would go out and take a walk until the other kings arrived. Just as he was about to exit his room, the doors swung open and a woman with messy black hair and a scar across her nose entered. She smiled widely at him.

"Master, you're back!"

Tatsumi suppressed a groan. "Hello, Suzuka."

Suzuka bowed at his feet. "You should have alerted me immediately! I would have rushed over to serve you as soon as you arrived!"

Tatsumi ignored her and continued onwards. To his annoyance, he heard her footsteps following closely behind. Unfortunately for him, Suzuka had taken it upon herself to become his personal "slave and bodyguard." Tatsumi had thought that his burying her in rubble six years ago would have put her off to him, but it seems as if that incident had the opposite effect.

Tatsumi walked through the halls of the palace until he came to a corridor which looked out over the courtyard and past the front gates of the palace. He squinted his emerald eyes as he noticed a long procession heading down the main street and towards the castle.

 _One of the kings,_ he guessed. _Seems a bit early. Oh well, I suppose I'll head to the meeting room as well._

The young emperor made his way to the war room where the conference would be held. As he moved to open the door, he noticed Suzuka standing closely behind him, her body so close that the two were touching.

"You don't have to follow me in here, you know," Tatsumi told her in a vain attempt to send her away.

She pressed herself closer to him. "Of course I do! The other kings will have bodyguards with them, so you need me there."

"I can handle myself," he replied as he entered the room, but Suzuka followed him in anyway.

The inside of the war room was mostly taken up by the large table that sat in the middle of the space. A huge map of the continent was plastered on the surface, and chairs were set up around the table.

Tatsumi took a seat at the head of the table and rested his cheek on his palm, prepared to wait for a while. Suzuka positioned herself behind him.

After a few minutes, the door opened and Tatsumi perked up as the newcomer entered the room. The man was old and stout, and he had a well-trimmed black beard that covered the lower half of his face. He had slicked back gray hair, and his brown eyes were hard and unforgiving. He wore a black military uniform, and a pistol hung at his belt. This was King Grobent, leader of the Western Country.

Accompanying King Grobent was a young woman with long, red hair and sapphire eyes. She wore a blue, lightweight suit of armor, and two swords were attached to her hip. Tatsumi assumed that this was the king's bodyguard.

King Grobent looked around the room with distaste before setting his disapproving gaze on Tatsumi.

"Are we the only two who here?" the king asked in his gruff voice.

Tatsumi wondered if that was a trick question since they were quite obviously the only world leaders in the room. "It appears that way."

Grobent shook his head as he took a seat. "These fools have no regard for timeliness."

Tatsumi leaned back in his chair. He forgot how much hated dealing with other kings. "You might be a bit early, King Grobent."

The black-haired king merely grunted at that. Tatsumi briefly glanced at the king's bodyguard, then at his own. Suzuka was eyeing the other woman with an expression of hunger on her face, and it was clear the the redhead was uncomfortable under the Rakshasa's gaze.

The two leaders sat in awkward silence for a few more minutes before the door opened again. This time, a tall, slender man with a long white beard entered. He wore a simple navy-colored robe, and his droopy blue eyes were shaded by his bushy white eyebrows. His snow-white hair was long and unkempt and he carried nothing but a staff with him. This was Alerec, King of the Northern Country.

Following King Alerec was another tall man, though this one was clad in a suit of white and gold armor. He had long blond hair and golden eyes, and his face was sleek and handsome. A long, white cape billowed behind him, and a sword dangled at his side.

Tatsumi cautiously looked over King Alerec's bodyguard. This was Lord Elderrn, a noble from the Northern Country as well as one of the world's finest swordsmen. His exploits were so great and numerous that even Tatsumi knew him well.

"Gentlemen," King Alerec greeted, his voice soft but powerful. "It has been a while."

Tatsumi nodded politely, but King Grobent said nothing. King Alerec slowly sat down, and the room descended into silence once again. Tatsumi began absently tapping his finger against the table, but he stopped once he noticed Grobent glaring at him.

Another five minutes passed before the final king arrived. The King of the Southern Country was a young man like Tatsumi. He had long, black hair tied in a ponytail, and his muscular, tanned body was covered by loose-fitting, luxurious robes. His black eyes twinkled with excitement as he entered.

His subordinate followed closely behind. She had long black hair and red eyes, and she wore a black skirt and a dull red coat. A sword rested at her side, and she moved with the trained grace of an assassin.

Tatsumi narrowed his green eyes. _Is that… Is that Akame?_

The girl's red eyes met with his emerald ones before glancing away.

 _There's no possible way…_

Tatsumi figured that he was just going insane. It certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibility considering the mental strain Incursio placed upon him.

"What's up, friends?" the Southern King greeted as he waved. "You all missed your old buddy Selevien, didn't you?"

King Alerec laughed heartily and waved back, but King Grobent simply shut his eyes as if he could will King Selevien to just disappear. Tatsumi didn't say anything as he was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Tatsumi turned his head slightly to see if Suzuka noticed anything strange about King Selevien's bodyguard. The Rakshasa Demon was grinning widely at the woman who may or may not be Akame.

 _What the…_

Tatsumi's thoughts were interrupted when Grobent spoke.

"Well, Incursio? Are you going to get this meeting started or not? I don't have all day."

Tatsumi stood up cautiously, taking care to avoid looking at Akame. "Uh, right. Welcome, Kings, to the Central Country. I hope you all had a pleasant journey."

No one said anything, so Tatsumi sat down, cleared his throat awkwardly, and continued.

"... So, let us begin with today's conference. The primary issues we will be discussing today are the control of the Western River as well as the border conflict between the Western and Southern Countries."

"The first one is a non-issue," King Grobent started. "Your people ceded the river to us when we helped you with your infernal revolution, Incursio."

"Yes, but the condition was that you would allow access to our citizens as well," Tatsumi replied. "As it stands right now, the Western Country is preventing inhabitants of the Central Country from even setting foot near the river."

King Grobent scoffed at that. "There was no 'condition.' An implication, maybe, but no set terms. We are under no obligation to allow Central Country access to the river."

"You're being unreasonable."

"And you are being a fool."

 _Oh, Mine, if only you could see how well our countries are getting along now,_ Tatsumi thought sarcastically.

"Now, now," King Alerec intervened. "I'm sure we can settle this without resorting to name calling."

Selevien chuckled. "Where's the fun in that?"

King Grobent glared at the dark-skinned man. "Don't look so jovial, you cretin. You and I still have that border issue to settle."

Selevien raised his hands in surrender and smiled. "Lighten up, Grobe. Actually, I think we have more important things to discuss than a couple silly border disputes."

"Oh really? Such as?" Grobent asked, his fists clenched and his jaw rigid.

Selevien jerked his thumb towards his bodyguard. "Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Akame. She's an explorer who just came back from the distant Eastern Country, and she's got some interesting news."

Tatsumi's pulse quickened as Akame stepped forward. _So it is her!_

Akame spared a furtive glance at Tatsumi before speaking. "When I went to the Eastern Country, I discovered that the Eastern Empire had been stockpiling battleships and armaments. Their army has also been carrying out military exercise drills, and the emperor has isolated the country in order to prevent anyone from leaving or entering. I believe that they are preparing for an invasion of the mainland."

"Oh dear, an invasion?" King Alerec said, though he didn't appear to be nervous at all. The old man had a carefree smile on his wrinkled face.

"Not only that, but Akame says that their army is triple the size of all of ours combined," King Selevien remarked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Preposterous!" Grobent exclaimed. "Do you have any proof to back up your claims, girl?"

Akame hesitated. "... No. It was difficult for me to even enter and leave the country, let alone smuggle any definitive evidence out."

King Grobent crossed his arms. "So we're just supposed to drop everything and take your word for it? I'm not convinced that this isn't just an elaborate plan to get us to drop our guards so Selevien and his filthy Southerners can attack us with impunity."

"Hey!" Selevien protested, though his sunny smile indicated that he seemed to be enjoying Grobent's wrath.

"Hold on," King Alerec interrupted. "Let's not be so quick to judge. What do you think, Emperor Incursio?"

Tatsumi frowned. He was still trying to get over the initial shock of seeing Akame there, but he had to admit the whole situation sounded a bit strange.

"... I'm going to have to agree with King Grobent," he finally said. "The Eastern Country has always kept to themselves. I don't see why they would suddenly decide to take on all four of us, or how they could possibly build up an army of that size."

Surprise flashed across Akame's red eyes for a second. King Selevien sighed and leaned forward.

"The only reason I even brought this up is because it's something the four of us have to deal with together," the dark-skinned king said, his tone suddenly serious. "We can't afford to waste time fighting among ourselves when the enemy is preparing to destroy us."

"Hmm… I do have to admit, this situation seems a bit out of the ordinary, but we also cannot ignore it," Alerec stated. He then turned to Akame. "Were you able to enter the Imperial Court? Did you find anything hinting as to the motivation for this attack?"

"No. Security around the capital was tight and no one was allowed anywhere near the palace grounds. I did most of my reconnaissance work in the shadows," Akame replied.

 _Why was she even in the Eastern Country in the first place?_ Tatsumi wondered to himself.

Just then, the door to the meeting room flung open and a soldier entered. He saluted as he turned to Tatsumi.

"Apologies for the interruption, Your Majesty! Intruders have infiltrated the Imperial Palace!"

"What!" Tatsumi said as he stood up. "Eliminate them immediately, then! Why are you even bothering to tell me?"

The soldier bowed hurriedly. "Y-yes, Your Majesty! At once!"

Selevien laughed. "Well, this is embarrassing, eh, Incursio?"

Tatsumi glared at him. "The Imperial Guard is more than capable of defending the palace. You have nothing to worry about."

"We aren't worried," King Grobent said, disdain evident in his tone. "It's simply uncouth and sloppy for an emperor to allow this to happen in the middle of such an important conference."

"Maybe this is a good thing," King Alerec interjected, once again trying to play the peacekeeper. "We could all use some time off to think about what King Selevien brought up. Emperor, would you be able to provide us with some temporary lodging? That way we could resume our conference tomorrow."

Tatsumi nodded. "I can do that."

"Wait, what about the other issues?" Grobent shouted. "Are we just going to ignore those problems?"

Alerec pulled on his white beard. "How about this… King Grobent, you share access of the river with the Central Country. In return, the South will cede to you the land on the border. Emperor Incursio will then allow the Southern Country toll-free access into his border so that the South is still able to have a viable trade route. Temporarily, I believe this is a good solution."

"Sounds good to me," King Selevien said as he got up and stretched.

Grobent grunted, but he too decided to relent.

Alerec flashed a jolly smile. "Good, then it is settled."

Tatsumi gestured towards Suzuka. "Show them to some rooms. I'm going to go and see about those intruders."

Without waiting for a reply, Tatsumi strode out of the conference room and headed to the throne room in order to ask the Imperial Guard if they had apprehended the invaders yet.

 _Damn, of all the times for this to happen…_

He grit his teeth in anger as he picked up the pace. First he had to attend Najenda's funeral, then he had to be blindsided by the sudden appearance of Akame, and now his palace had been invaded in the middle of an international conference. This day was not going well for Tatsumi.

 **Kill them all.**

Tatsumi froze as the dark command echoed throughout his head. _That was… Incursio?_

Such intrusive thoughts were common when Tatsumi took on Incursio's dragon from, but at the moment the Imperial Arms was in its sheath, unused. _I see… Incursio's spirit is beginning to bleed into my own mind._

He shook his head as he continued walking. The emperor knew that he would have to be much more careful when using his Imperial Arms from now on.

As Tatsumi approached the throne room, a soldier ran up to him.

"Your Majesty! We have apprehended the intruders! They are currently being held in the throne room."

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't they in the dungeons?"

The soldier looked around nervously. "Well… Uh… It's that boy from your village again, Your Majesty. Him and his friends."

Tatsumi groaned. _Not this again…_

"Fine. I will deal with them personally. Dismissed."

The soldier saluted and ran off. Tatsumi entered the throne room and was greeted with the sight of three teenagers bound together with a thick rope.

The first was a girl with long, dark purple hair and violet eyes. She wore a tan winter coat and a pair of tan pants, and she had on some brown leather boots. She looked away and blushed as Tatsumi entered.

The second was a boy with light-brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a pair of thick glasses and a white sweater vest. His bored expression remained even when he saw Tatsumi arrive.

Finally, the third intruder was a young man with silky, black hair tied in a low ponytail. He wore a purple shirt and black travelling pants, and his bright blue eyes stared defiantly at Tatsumi.

"Bastard! You're so much of a coward that you had to send your guards after us?" the blue-eyed boy yelled.

Tatsumi rolled his eyes. "Shut up, idiot. I was in an important meeting. Consider yourself lucky that I won't execute you for this."

"M-maybe he's right, Sven," the girl spoke up. "We should just apologize and l-leave."

"Hell no, Tora! We made it farther into the palace than ever before this time, and we would have made it even deeper if those damn guards didn't come after us!"

"When you invade a palace, expect there to be guards," the brown-haired boy said snidely. "That's just common sense."

Sven scowled. "Oh yeah, Sora? If you're so smart, then why'd you get caught?"

"Enough," Tatsumi interrupted. "This is unacceptable! Invading the royal palace while an international conference is going on is insanely stupid. You three are getting too spoiled. Just because I've known you all for years doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."

"Shut up!" Sven shouted. "And just because you're the emperor now doesn't mean you get to act all high and mighty!"

Tatsumi sighed and flicked Sven on the head, causing the younger boy to cry out in pain.

"Idiot," Tatsumi said once more. "If you want to get stronger, you can train with the Imperial Guards. Didn't I already tell you this?"

Sven pouted. "But that wouldn't be real enough…"

"And you think breaking into a palace of an emperor who won't even punish you is real?" Tatsumi countered. "The three of you are fools who don't have a clue what actual combat is like… Whatever. I'll have a guard cut you loose in a few hours. Until then, sit there and think about what you've done."

"Huh? What if we have to use the bathroom!" Sven called out as Tatsumi began walking away.

Tatsumi waved him off. "Should've thought of that beforehand."

The young emperor walked away as Sven's curses resounded throughout the throne room. _Those idiot kids…_

Despite their words, the three teens idolized Tatsumi. Back when Tatsumi was still training in his village, he used to play with the trio a lot during his downtime. There were very young back then, and they were also too little to fight in the Revolution. Still, they had heard about Tatsumi's exploits in helping the Revolution win, and they were amazed that the kid they used to play with was now the leader of their nation.

 _They sure do have a strange way of showing their affection,_ Tatsumi lamented as Sven's curses slowly faded away.

He continued through the lavish hall, wondering what his next course of action should be. _Do I go and see Akame? Or should I wait for her to come to me?... Does she even want to see me?_

Tatsumi's questions were answered when he spotted the familiar red-eyed assassin leaning against the wall at the far end of the hallway. Akame's eyes flashed with an indiscernible emotion when she saw Tatsumi approaching.

Tatsumi's throat tightened as he got closer to her. He didn't know whether he should be angry or happy at seeing her, but he did know that he was very confused. He stopped a few feet away from her.

He struggled to find something to say, but luckily for him, it was Akame who broke the silence.

"Hello, Tatsumi."

* * *

 **A/N:** _Hello, and thanks for reading. A few points for clarification before the next chapter:_

 _\- This story is mostly based off the manga, though as you probably noticed, Mine is also dead. That will most likely be the only major difference, but otherwise assume that the previous events of this story follow manga canon._

 _\- There will probably be a lot of OCs in this story, mostly due to the fact that a lot of the main characters are dead. However, just because a character is dead doesn't mean that he or she will have no role to play..._

 _\- General Nuba is actually the revolutionary soldier who uses Belvaac in the manga, so she is not an OC. She was unnamed, though, so I had to make up a name for her._

 _Thanks again for reading, and please review if you have the time._


	2. Kill the Anticipation

"Hello, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi's mind raced with emotions as he stared into Akame's red eyes.

"... Akame," he finally said, his voice even.

"I see they made you the emperor," she began, her voice a bit hesitant.

"Yeah. I didn't really want to take the position, but they said they needed a figurehead to represent the Revolution. I guess I was the only one left at that point," Tatsumi replied.

Akame looked away. "... I heard today was the Boss' funeral."

Tatsumi glanced at his feet. "Yeah, and you missed it."

The young emperor then looked up at her, his green eyes hard. "Where the fuck have you been, Akame?"

She gazed at him sadly. "Tatsumi…"

"What?" Tatsumi asked as he grit his teeth in anger. "Why do you even bother to show up now? Now after six years! What makes you think you're even welcome here, huh?!"

"I'm sorry," Akame said softly. "I didn't mean for things to turn out like this."

"I don't care what you meant for things to be like!"

Akame screwed her eyes shut, as if she were in pain. "I knew you would be angry with me."

Tatsumi clenched his fists, letting all his frustrations out. "Well, what the hell did you expect? You can't just leave for no reason and then return six years later and expect everything to be fine!"

"... I know."

Tatsumi took a breath, calming himself. The sinister voice murmuring in the back of his mind slowly began to quiet down as well.

"I just couldn't stay here," Akame continued. "After all that happened… I just had to leave. I'm sorry I couldn't be strong like you, Tatsumi. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay and help you. I was just too… weak."

Tears threatened to fall from Akame's eyes, and Tatsumi began to feel guilty. _Akame…_

Akame reached up and brushed at her eyes with her forearm. "If you can't forgive me, Tatsumi, I understand."

"Of course he can forgive you."

Tatsumi and Akame both glanced at the end of the corridor to see Leone wheeling towards them. The blonde had a bittersweet smile on her face as she approached the pair.

"Nice to see you again, Akame."

Akame's eyes widened in surprise. "Leone?"

Leone smiled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Oh, right. The last time you saw me I was probably in the hospital. But yeah, this is how I have to get around now. It's not too bad once you're used to it."

Akame balled her hands into her fists and it looked as if she were about to cry again. Tatsumi decided to step in.

"Akame… It doesn't matter why you left. After all, we're still friends, right?"

The red-eyed assassin looked at Tatsumi with tears in her eyes, then reached over and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Tatsumi… Thank you," she whispered into his ear, her breath shaky.

The emperor rubbed her back comfortingly. Though he was still angry with Akame for various reasons, he couldn't deny how good it felt to say those words and to finally be with her again.

"There, see?" Leone said. "That wasn't so hard."

Akame pulled away from Tatsumi and smiled at Leone. "I'm so happy to see both of you again!"

"Well, now that we're all that's left of Night Raid, we should stick together, right?" Leone said with a bright smile.

Akame nodded, clearly relieved that she had been accepted by her former comrades.

"So… Where exactly did you go, Akame?" Tatsumi asked again, though with far less anger this time. "Did you spend all six years in the East?"

"Yes," she replied. "I… I wanted to get far away, so I thought that going to the East would be the best option. It took me a while to find a way to get over there, but I just assumed that was because of the Eastern Country's preference for isolationism. I never expected them to be shutting off international communications because they were planning for an invasion."

"Invasion?" Leone asked.

"Apparently the Eastern Country is planning to invade the continent," Tatsumi explained. "Akame says they have an army triple the size of all four of ours' combined."

"... Damn," Leone simply said, her eyes clouded with confusion.

Akame nodded. "Anyway, that was why it took me so long to get back. Returning from the East was much more difficult, especially since I was simultaneously trying to gather information on the military's activities."

Tatsumi opened his mouth to reply, but he quickly whirled around when he heard a pair of footsteps rushing at him. His green eyes grew wide as Sven sprinted up to him.

"How the hell did you -"

The emperor's sentence was cut short when Sven kicked him in the testicles. Tatsumi cursed loudly as he fell to the ground, his hands cradling his damaged balls.

"You again?!" Leone yelled as she watched the scene unfold.

Sven sped past her. "Out of the way, Cripple!"

"What?! Get back here you bastard!"

Leone tried to grab the boy, but he was long gone. Tatsumi groaned in pain as he slowly picked himself up from the ground.

"Fuck…" the brown-haired man muttered as he gingerly stood up.

Tora and Sora then ran past the trio as well, with the former stopping to bow apologetically to Tatsumi.

"S-sorry, Tatsumi!" the girl squeaked before taking off after her friends.

Tatsumi frowned as he watched them leave. "How the hell did they break those ropes…?"

"Tatsumi, you idiot!" Leone chastised. "Why do you keep letting those guys run around and do whatever they want? They're stepping all over you!"

"Who are they?" Akame asked, clearly lost.

Tatsumi sighed. "Don't worry about it. Just some kids from my village."

"Why were they attacking you?" Akame questioned.

"Tatsumi's still a softie at heart," Leone replied as she shook her head. "You should teach those kids some manners."

The emperor shrugged. "Not my job. Anyway, I'm sure dinner is about ready by now. You guys coming?"

Akame's eyes brightened. "Do you have meat?"

"Of course we do!"

Leone watched with a smile as the pair walked off, then wheeled herself after them.

 _We're back together again._

* * *

The next day, the four world leaders and their bodyguards gathered once more in the meeting room. With the more minor issues settled, the group attempted to figure out how they could counter the massive, looming threat of an invasion from the East.

"I say we stand our ground," King Grobent offered in a gruff voice. "We know the terrain, and we would have the advantage of fighting a defensive battle."

"I don't know," Selevien said as he put his feet up onto the table. "How well will our armies work together? Will we be able to launch coordinated attacks and defenses? How will we know where they will strike?"

King Alerec nodded. "All good points, King Selevien. Personally, I believe that waiting for them to come for us could be disastrous. They already have a much larger army, and we would only be giving them more time to prepare."

"It's even possible that they've been watching us, either through spy networks or other means," Tatsumi interjected as he leaned forward. "I would guess that they are more informed on us than we are on them."

"Well, not much we can do about that, can we?" Grobent countered with a frown. "Not unless we send another informant to the East."

Selevien turned to Akame, but the red-eyed assassin shook her head.

"If I were to go back, it's likely that I wouldn't be able to convey any information to you all until the invasion had already begun."

Tatsumi rubbed the brown stubble on his chin. "So spies are out of the question, and so is a standard defense. That only leaves…"

"Right," Alerec nodded. "We are going to have to take the fight to them."

"A preemptive strike?" Grobent scoffed. "Impossible! If their army is as large as we think, then we will be destroyed if we attempt such a risky maneuver."

"True, but I think Emperor Incursio is referring to a more smaller-scale sort of mission," Alerec said. "An infiltration of sorts, no?"

Tatsumi nodded. "Exactly."

"Sounds difficult," Selevien said with a grimace.

King Alerec smiled. "Emperor Incursio here used to be an assassin, so I wouldn't be so sure about that. Right, Akame?"

Both Tatsumi and Akame wore expressions of surprise at the old king's words.

"... You knew?" Tatsumi asked.

Alerec laughed heartily. "Don't look so startled, Emperor! I have my sources. Nevertheless, it is good that we have you two with us. With your expertise, such an infiltration should be entirely within the realm of possibility."

Grobent cleared his throat. "I'm not exactly sure what you two are talking about, but it seems that an infiltration truly is our only course of action. Well, Incursio? Is this how we proceed?"

Tatsumi looked at Akame, who nodded back at him.

"I guess we have to," the emperor decided. "We'll need to take a small team of assassins into the Eastern Country and eliminate key officials in the military and the government, thereby crippling their attacking and administrative capacities. Though it is risky, I think that this plan has the highest chance of being successful."

Selevien nodded along as he twirled his black hair. "Sounds good… But how exactly are we going to decide who goes? I mean, this information about the East is still pretty top-secret."

"Us kings should go," Grobent said as he stood up. He clenched his fists. "We are the leaders of our nations, and we should not be sitting back while a foreign entity is preparing to destroy us!"

"Well said," Alerec replied with a light chuckle. "Oh, what I would give to be a few years younger…"

Tatsumi had heard that King Grobent was a strong warrior and a seasoned soldier, but he didn't know if the Western King was assassin material. Still, he was not going to be the one to tell the ill-tempered monarch that he couldn't go with them.

"Okay… So we have King Grobent, Akame, and myself so far. King Selevien?" Tatsumi asked.

"Count me in!" the dark-skinned king said with a smile. "I haven't had a good fight in a while, and this sounds exciting."

"My personal guard, Helevina, should accompany us as well," Grobent said as he gestured to the red-haired woman behind him. "She is a fierce warrior and has the necessary skillset for a mission such as this."

Tatsumi nodded. "That's fine… King Alerec? I assume you will not be going, but what about Lord Elderrn? We could use his help."

The blond knight's expression remained stoic. "I go where my king goes. Nowhere else."

"Fancy way of saying you're a coward," Grobent said with disgust as he glared at the long-haired Northerner. "No matter. You two stay at home while we save you from complete destruction."

King Alerec merely laughed at Grobent's insult. "Thank you, King Grobent. I'm glad we can count on you."

"So, is it just the five of us, then?" Tatsumi asked, wanting to get a final count of the participants.

"Seems like it, unless you got anybody else in mind," Selevien replied. "Hey, Akame, is five enough to carry out this mission?"

"I don't know," she said with a thoughtful look in her eyes. "However, it would be wasteful to bring along more people just for the sake of numbers. In infiltration missions it's better to have a small, efficient group."

Grobent nodded. "That settles it, then. When do we leave?"

"The sooner, the better," Tatsumi answered as he stood up. "Akame, do you think that we would be able to get back to the East the same way you did when you first went there?"

The red-eyed assassin looked hesitant. "... I'm not sure. Either way, I don't see any other option. We'll have to try it."

"Try what?" Selevien asked.

"I first got over to the Eastern Country by travelling with a smuggling ring, which is why I was able to get into the country undetected." Akame explained. "I don't know if these smugglers will be willing to carry three kings over to the East, though."

"Doesn't matter if they are willing," Grobent said. "We are kings and they will obey our commands, even if they are criminals."

 _Somehow I don't think it will be that easy,_ Tatsumi thought to himself, but he had to admit that this still sounded like the best option. Any ships from the Imperial Navy would be immediately spotted and destroyed, so travelling in a smaller boat designed for covert operations with smugglers who know how to sail undetected would be much more likely to succeed.

"Alright," Tatsumi spoke as he began walking out. "Make any preparations you need to. We leave to find these smugglers tomorrow."

The young emperor left the conference room and headed off to tell Leone, Prime Minister Elcurus, and a few other officials about the plan. As he walked through the lavish halls, he couldn't help but feel a rush of nostalgia.

 _An assassination mission with Akame. Just like the old days._

Speaking of Akame, the black-haired girl soon caught up to him. She gave him a small smile, which he returned.

"So, when is lunch, Tatsumi?"

Tatsumi gave a resigned sigh. "Didn't you just have breakfast an hour ago?"

Akame blinked. "So?"

"Seriously?" he muttered. "You can go to the kitchens and ask them to make you something if you want. I've got to go and tell Leone and the others about our plan, though."

"I'll come with you, then," Akame replied.

Tatsumi nodded, then felt something attach to his right arm. He turned and saw Suzuka grinning at him.

"Master, I couldn't help but notice that you forgot to include me when you were planning for the infiltration."

Tatsumi frowned. "I didn't forget. You won't be going."

"So blunt…!" Suzuka gasped out as her smile widened and her embrace tightened.

The emperor groaned as he shoved the Rakshasa away from him. "I need you to guard the palace while I'm gone. Besides our generals, two of whom are away right now, you're the best fighter we have."

Suzuka bowed as she eyed Tatsumi hungrily. "I'm honored, Master! I am but a humble slave, and I would be pleased to serve you!"

"Then serve me by getting lost," Tatsumi told her, though he had a feeling that his comment would only make her more excited. Thankfully, the woman decided to leave him alone.

Tatsumi sighed. "Sorry you had to see that."

"Hm?" Akame said as she took her eyes off a roasted pig that was being transported down the other side of the hallway by a pair of servants.

Tatsumi shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go."

The pair continued through the halls of the palace until the reached the office of the Minister of the Interior. When he entered, Tatsumi was pleasantly surprised to find both Leone and Minister Elcurus, meaning that he could tell them both at once.

However, the two Imperial officials didn't seem to be getting along. Leone was currently glaring at the blue-haired man as he scribbled corrections on one of her reports. Elcurus looked up as Tatsumi and Akame arrived.

"Oh, Your Majesty," the minister greeted. "I had returned from the Eastern Sector earlier this morning, but I was told you were in a meeting. I did not want to disturb you."

Tatsumi nodded. "And General Nuba?"

"She is still finishing with the details. She should be returning soon as well."

The emperor gave another nod and then turned to Leone, who was chatting with Akame.

"Busy with work?" Tatsumi asked the blonde, a taunting smile on his face.

Leone frowned. "Actually, I finished my reports, but your annoying minister says the 'verbiage is not up to par.'"

Elcurus looked offended. "You make me sound as if I am some sort of pompous snob! I simply mean that -"

"I don't really need to hear this," Tatsumi interrupted. "I'm just here to tell you that Akame and I will be leaving for a while to deal with the Eastern problem I told you about yesterday. Minister Elcurus, were you briefed on this?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I am aware of most of the details, but I have not been told that you were leaving until now," the blue-haired minister replied, a hint of concern in his tone.

"That's because we only just came up with a plan. Basically what we will be doing is infiltrating the Eastern Country and then carrying out the assassinations of top-ranked officials in the country's government and military," Tatsumi explained. "That should significantly slow down or even put a stop to their invasion plans."

"An assassination? Cool!" Leone cheered. "It's just like the old days, eh Akame?"

Akame smiled sadly. "It's not the same without you, Leone."

Leone laughed. "Ah, don't worry about me. Who's going to defend the palace while you're gone if I don't stay behind, right?"

The minister, on the other hand, looked a bit more apprehensive.

"I don't know about this, Your Majesty… This seems dangerous."

"Well no shit it's dangerous," Leone said. "They're going to be infiltrating the Eastern Country of all places."

The minister wrung his hands nervously. "Yes, but… Surely there is a better way to go about this? Have we tried diplomacy?"

Tatsumi shook his head. "Minister, you know as well as I that the Eastern Country is an isolated entity and is not open to negotiations. Trying to talk to them would be futile and would also tell them that we know about their plans."

Elcurus sighed in defeat. "... I see. In that case, I wish you luck. When will you be leaving?"

"As soon as possible, maybe even today. You and Leone are going to need to handle most of the country's affairs in my absence."

"Consider it done, sire," Elcurus nodded. "How long will you be gone?"

Tatsumi turned to Akame, but the red-eyed assassin only shrugged.

"It depends. Once we are inside the country, it may take a while to form a plan and decide which figures we should kill. I would guess that it will take a month at the very least," Akame said.

"How are you guys planning on getting over there again?" Leone asked. "You said the East is pretty isolated, so that can't be easy."

"Akame knows some smugglers that might give us passage," Tatsumi answered. "Speaking of… Can you still even contact them, Akame? It _has_ been six years."

Akame crossed her arms and frowned. "Now that you mention it… Probably not. However, I know an old friend who might have an idea of how to reach out to them. He was the one who introduced me to them in the first place."

"An 'old friend'?" Tatsumi asked, confused.

Akame smiled at him. "I'm sure you'll remember him when you see him, Tatsumi."

* * *

Akame looked down at Tatsumi from the top of the grassy hill. Her red eyes flickered with a hint of impatience.

Tatsumi sighed as he climbed the hill, then turned around to look at the long procession of carts that followed. King Grobent and King Selevien trailed on horseback, the two leaders actually getting along for once. They hadn't brought much with them, but Tatsumi had hauled along a five-cart train and a handful of servants as well.

"They're slow," Akame observed as she glanced at the carts.

Tatsumi grunted a reply as he too reached the top of the hill. "Yeah, well, they're necessary. We won't be bringing them to the East with us, but we definitely need money for lodging and food… Not to mention the huge sum we're going to have to pay those smugglers to get us across."

"Do we really have to wait for them?" Akame asked as she watched one of the carts get stuck trying to climb up the hill.

"I don't know… I guess they can catch up later. Why are you so impatient, anyway?"

Akame looked at him as if he were stupid. "I haven't eaten in two hours."

"Right," Tatsumi muttered as he turned to look at the small shack that rested a few meters away on the hill. "So, is that where your 'old friend' lives?"

The red-eyed girl nodded, then headed towards the house. Tatsumi sighed again as he followed her.

As the pair reached the front door of the small, homely shack, Tatsumi hesitated.

"Did you tell them that we were dropping by?" he asked.

Akame spared a brief glance at him before knocking. "No."

A brief silence followed the knocks before a pair of footsteps shuffled towards the door from inside the house. The door opened, revealing a tall, tanned man with dark blue hair and cerulean eyes.

… _Wave?_ Tatsumi realized.

Wave looked just as shocked. "What the… You guys?!"

"Hello, Wave," Akame greeted. "Do you mind if we come in?"

The former sailor looked dumbfounded. "Uh… Sure, I guess. Are you going to tell me what this is about, though? I haven't seen you two in years!"

"Six years, to be exact," Akame said she she stepped into the small room.

"Yeah, that's right… Though I've seen Tatsumi a couple of times since then, but it was always Kurome and me going to the Imperial Palace."

Tatsumi looked around at the inside of the small shack. The flooring and walls were made of wood, and a small fireplace burned at the end of the room. A table stood in the center of the living area, and there was a separate section for the small kitchen. There appeared to be another room in the back, and Tatsumi guessed that it was a bedroom. Overall, the house seemed small but relatively comfortable.

"Is Kurome around?" Akame asked as she took a seat at the table.

"No, she went out to hunt…" Wave replied absently as he stared out the window at the large procession heading towards his hut. "By the way, who the hell are those guys?"

Since Akame apparently didn't care to respond, it was left to Tatsumi to explain all the details of the trip to Wave. The ex-soldier looked a bit perplexed by the whole thing.

"I see… Well, this is certainly an interesting situation," Wave concluded as he held his chin in his hand. "So you really want me to set you up a meeting with Blue Moon again, Akame?"

"If it's not too much trouble," she replied as she shoved a slice of turkey into her mouth.

"So that's the name of this smuggling ring?" Tatsumi asked as he leaned back in his seat.

Wave nodded. "Yeah, they're supposedly the best around. I had a few run-ins with them when I was in the Navy. They work pretty well in the shadows, which is why you don't know about them."

"Oh, so you knew where I can find these criminals and you kept it to yourself?" Tatsumi joked. "Come on, Wave."

Wave looked flustered. "It's not like that! Besides, even if I did tell you where their base is, they would immediately see you coming and change locations. With a procession like the one you got waiting outside, you'll never get anywhere close to them."

Tatsumi glanced out the window where the carts were parked. The two kings had gone into the nearby seaside town for some reason, leaving the servants, the carts, and Grobent's guard, Helevina, standing outside the shack.

"So how do we get them to listen to us, then?" Tatsumi finally said. "I'm assuming they'll want some sort of bribe."

Before Wave could answer, the door to the shack flew open. A petite, black-haired girl with coal-colored eyes entered, a sword at her side and a freshly-killed deer dragging along behind her.

"Tatsumi? Sister?" Kurome asked in surprise.

Akame smiled and waved. "Hello, Kurome. It's been a while."

Tatsumi nodded at her politely.

Wave grinned sheepishly. "Yeah… Looks like something came up."

The trio then spent the next ten minutes explaining everything to Kurome as well, who looked fascinated with the situation.

"This sounds like fun," the black-eyed girl said when she finished hearing everything. "You can count us in, right, Wave?"

Wave, who was busy skinning the deer, twitched in surprise. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Kurome sighed and rested her head on her palm. "It means we're going too, stupid."

"You know, that really isn't necessary," Tatsumi said. "You guys seem pretty content here. We wouldn't want to disturb you."

Wave smiled warmly. "Thanks, Tatsumi. You're still as thoughtful as ev-"

"No, it's not a problem," Kurome said, dismissing her partner's words. "We're family, right? If my sister and future brother-in-law ask us for help, we should give it."

Tatsumi and Akame both blushed furiously at that comment.

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" the emperor stuttered.

Kurome raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Sorry, I just assumed. Akame shows up after six years with you of all people, so I thought there must be something going on between you two."

"Kurome!" Akame protested.

The former Jaeger raised her hands in surrender. "Okay, sorry. We're still going with you, though."

"Can you even fight?" Tatsumi wondered. "Hunting deer is much less straining than hunting people."

Kurome tilted her head. "I wouldn't say so."

"You don't have to worry about us, Tatsumi," Wave assured him. "We'll be able to handle ourselves just fine."

"So you two are really coming?" Akame asked.

"Sure, why not," Kurome said with a shrug. "Oi, Wave, hurry it up over there. I'm getting hungry."

"Alright, alright…" Wave muttered as he shot her a glare before turning back to the deer.

Tatsumi stifled a yawn. "So where do we go to find Blue Moon, Wave? Even if we can't take the entire train with us, I'd still like to know where they're located."

"Not too far from here, actually," Wave grunted as he dug his knife into the deer's flesh. "Their current base of operations is in the town where your two kingly friends went. They're hiding in plain sight among the ships in the harbor."

"They're still there?" Akame asked, surprised.

Wave nodded. "Yep. It's actually one of the reasons why I chose to live here, Tatsumi, so I could keep an eye on them."

"So… Do we just go up and ask them if they'll take us across, then? How does this work?" the emperor wondered.

"There's an entrance underneath one of the bars by the boardwalk which leads to their main hangout," Wave explained. "If I go with you guys, they'll probably let you in."

"Should Tatsumi really go? He is the emperor, after all, and I doubt that some smugglers will want him in their base," Kurome pointed out.

Wave shrugged. "I don't know… Maybe if Tatsumi goes, they'll see that we mean them no harm. Either that or they'll try and kill us on the spot."

"Wow, this plan just gets better and better, doesn't it?" Kurome said, though Tatsumi couldn't tell whether or not she was being sarcastic.

Tatsumi stood up, a determined look in his green eyes. "Either way, we have no choice. The very existence of our land hangs in the balance, and we're the only ones who can prevent the continent from being destroyed. We're going to make these smugglers take us across whether they like it or not."

* * *

Leone sat at her desk, bored out of her mind. Her golden eyes skimmed over a document detailing the new number of soup kitchens that have been opened in the capital over the past year, but she found that she wasn't really paying attention to what she was reading. Her thoughts were elsewhere.

 _Akame… Tatsumi… I hope you two are alright._

It had been a week and a half since they left the capital, and Leone had not yet received word from them. She didn't expect to get any sort of message until Tatsumi's caravan returned after delivering him aboard the smuggler's ship, but she still couldn't help but worry a little.

Her fists clutched the paper. _I wish I could have gone with them. The way I am now, I'm just useless._

Though she tried to be optimistic for Tatsumi's sake, Leone often found herself wishing she could go back to the way things were before. Before, when everyone was still alive and she wasn't bound to a wheelchair.

She sighed as she loosened her grip on the now-crumpled document. _No use in getting angry over things I can't change._

Leone sunk back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. She tried to remember how it felt to be on the hunt, sniffing out her enemy and then tearing into him with her fangs and claws. That animal instinct that had once been a part of her was now gone, slowly fading away and leaving behind an empty shell.

The door to Leone's office suddenly swung open and a teen with black hair and blue eyes entered.

"What are you doing here?" Leone asked with a frown.

Sven scowled back at her as he jammed his hands into his pockets. "Nothing. I was bored."

She raised an eyebrow. "So you came here, of all places?"

The boy yawned as he took a seat across from Leone. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

"Where are your two buddies?"

"Training with the Imperial Guard," Sven replied with a hint of disdain. "They took Tatsumi's advice, I guess."

"And why aren't you doing the same? I thought you wanted to get stronger?" Leone questioned.

Sven scoffed at that. "Like I need to follow _his_ advice to get stronger. I'll find my own way."

The blonde smiled at him. "You're lucky to have someone like Tatsumi to guide you, you know. You shouldn't take it for granted."

"Yeah, yeah," Sven said dismissively. "So what are you up to, anyway? Got anything interesting today?"

Leone slid the piece of paper towards Sven. "See for yourself."

The black-haired youth frowned as he glanced at the document. "This is boring as shit."

Leone laughed. "You're telling me. I'm the one who has to put up with this bureaucratic bullshit everyday."

"Well, anything is boring when compared to Night Raid, right?" Sven said with a smile. "You guys used to be so cool! It was all downhill from there anyway."

Leone sighed. "Yeah, you're right about that."

Sven let out a breath as he fingered the hilt of his sword. "Damn that Tatsumi. Even now he's off on some top-secret mission while we're just sitting here."

A knocking sound rapped against the door to Leone's office, and the pair watched as an old man with a drooping, white beard and long white hair entered. He wore a dark blue robe and carried a long, wooden staff with him, and he was accompanied by an elegant-looking knight with blond hair.

"Oh, I hope I am not interrupting anything," the old man greeted with an apologetic smile.

Leone was surprised to see the man. "You're King Alerec of the Northern Country, right? You're still in the palace?"

"Ah, yes. I wanted to remain here until I received word that my colleagues have been sent on their way to the Eastern Country. I believe I informed Emperor Incursio of my wishes, but it seems he did not tell you."

Leone groaned. "As usual, no one ever tells me anything."

"You're a king?" Sven asked the old man, clearly not uncomfortable in the presence of a monarch. "You don't really look like one, no offense."

Alerec chuckled. "None taken, my young friend. I often get such a reaction. Though I may appear old and feeble, I have experience to back me up."

"Did you need something, King Alerec?" Leone asked, still wondering why the old king came to her office of all places.

Alerec continued to smile, his blue eyes crinkling beneath his bushy eyebrows. "Actually, I came to see you, Minister Leone."

"... Me?"

"Yes," Alerec said with a nod. "It is not often one has the chance to meet a former member of Night Raid."

Leone's golden eyes widened in surprise. "You know about Night Raid? And you know I was a member?"

Alerec gave another jolly laugh. "Of course! I am well aware of the exploits of Night Raid. You, that Akame woman, and Emperor Incursio - or should I say, Tatsumi - were all once part of the group, no? I greatly admire your all three of you for your contribution to your country. Simply marvelous!"

Leone couldn't help but smile. Though Night Raid was supposed to have operated in the shadows, she always enjoyed the rare times when her hard work and the sacrifices of her comrades were recognized.

"Oh, well thank you," Leone replied.

Alerec grinned, then glanced at Sven. "Who are you, boy? A friend of Minister Leone's?"

Sven frowned. "Please. No, I'm Sven from Wintervale, otherwise known as the greatest warrior of my generation. I'm only hanging around this cripple because I'm bored."

Leone smacked Sven in the face for that comment, causing the boy to cry out.

"What the hell!?"

"What kind of 'great warrior' can't even dodge a slap from a woman in a wheelchair?" Leone taunted with a smirk.

"S-shut up!"

"Wintervale…" Alerec interrupted. "That is Emperor Incursio's village, no?"

"Wow, you're pretty well informed," Leone commented.

"Fighting is not my strong suit, so I must arm myself with knowledge," King Alerec explained. "So, I presume the real reason why you two are together is for commiseration purposes? I can tell you both wanted to accompany Emperor Incursio on his mission to the East."

Leone rested her cheek on her palm. "... Yeah. Not much we can do about that, though."

Sven crossed his arms as he stared intently at the floor.

"... I see," King Alerec finally said, then turned to leave. "Well, it was nice to meet you both."

As his bodyguard held the door open for him, King Alerec turned around to face the pair, his blue eyes twinkling.

"And do not look so sad, you two. None of us knows what the future holds. If you're lucky, you may just get your wish."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _\- A couple people asked why Tatsumi was selected to be emperor, so hopefully this chapter clears that up a bit. The Revolutionary Army basically used him as a figurehead to get the people of the Empire to accept the new government. Since everyone in the Capital (also the area with the most supporters of Honest's government) saw Tatsumi save them from the Shikoutazer, they would naturally have a good opinion of him. For the most part, people like Najenda and other high-ranking Revolutionaries handled the actual ruling of the Empire while Tatsumi just observed._

 _\- Just to be clear, Kurome does not have Yatsufusa, which was broken. The sword she possesses is just a regular katana. Wave does still have his two Imperial Arms, though._

 _Anyway, thanks for reading and thank you to all those who have reviewed/favorited/followed._


	3. Kill the Empire

_Sorry for the long wait... The next few updates should be much quicker. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited._

* * *

Wave took a deep breath before knocking on the wooden door located in the back of the bar. Though sailors and fishermen laughed and drank all around him, filling the room with a sort of brutish liveliness, only silence came from behind the door that led to Blue Moon's secret base.

"Well, what's taking so long?" Kurome demanded from behind Wave.

Before the former sailor could answer, the door inched open, revealing a pair of suspicious eyes.

"Uh, hi," Wave nervously greeted. "It's me, W-"

"Who are they?" the gruff voice demanded as he glanced at Kurome, Akame, and Tatsumi.

"Oh, they're friends of mine. They've got business with Blue Moon."

"What sort of business?"

Wave's gaze hardened. "Important business."

The man behind the door paused for a bit before finally opening the door. Wave nodded to his companions before descending the stairs behind the door.

The group headed downwards and found themselves in a cavernous, dimly-lit space. Shipping containers and boxes were littered around the rocky floor, and the front of the space opened up into the ocean. It appeared to be a sort of hidden dock.

Rough-looking sailors and pirates loitered about, all of them shifting their predatory gazes to the newcomers. Tatsumi swallowed as he unconsciously reached for Incursio.

The group stopped as the noticed a man walking towards them. He had sandy blond hair and dark brown eyes, and he wore the same sort of outfit that Wave did. Tatsumi guessed that this guy was probably an ex-Navy member as well.

"Well, well, if it isn't Wave," the blond man drawled as he approached, a smirk on his face. "What brings you to our humble abode?"

"We need passage to the East," Wave said, getting straight to the point. "I'm pretty sure I've asked you for something like this before, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"'We'?" the blond asked before turning to see the rest of Wave's group. His eyes lit up as he noticed Akame. "Well, if it isn't Akame! So you made it back from the East after all."

Akame nodded. "Hello, Laurent."

Laurent let out a low whistle. "Damn, it's been six years since then, hasn't it? So, who are the other two?"

"I'm Kurome," the black-eyed girl said simply.

Laurent narrowed his eyes at her but seemed to accept her minimal introduction. He then turned to Tatsumi.

"Incursio, Emperor of the Central Country," Tatsumi said.

Tatsumi figured it would be better to just come clean from the start, hopefully making things less complicated. He used the name 'Incursio' because it was what everyone post-Revolution knew him as. When the whole capital saw him dueling with the Supreme Imperial Arms in his Incursio armor, that was the impression that was left in the minds of the people, so that was the name he used.

Laurent raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I'm the emperor," Tatsumi repeated, gesturing to the silver dragon that pinned together his long, red cloak.

"Uh… What?" Laurent said dumbly, turning to Wave.

"He's telling the truth," Wave confirmed. "You don't need to worry, though. We're not here to arrest you or anything, we just need your help getting to the East."

Laurent frowned as he looked over Tatsumi. "Well… I've never seen the emperor in person, but you do look like the pictures… And Wave and Akame know some pretty powerful people, so I guess I'll take your word for it."

Tatsumi nodded, though he was a bit put off by Laurent's reaction. People normally groveled to him or kissed his ass when they learned that he was the emperor, but the leader of Blue Moon seemed unperturbed by the revelation.

"So the emperor wants to go the East?" Laurent said, summing up the reason for Wave's visit. "Why do you need my help for that? I'm sure the Imperial Navy can manage it."

"The East is preparing for war with the continent," Tatsumi said, again deciding to just explain everything up front. "They're building up their army for a surprise attack, so we need to get inside the country and destroy them before they can launch their offensive. If we use the Imperial Navy, they'll definitely see us coming."

Laurent rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "A war…? I guess that explains why it's been so hard to smuggle around the Eastern waterways for the past few years. So, you four are just going to go into the East and defeat their entire army by yourselves? Seems kind of stupid if you ask me."

"We can't defeat them through conventional methods since their military is so much bigger," Akame explained. "An infiltration and assassination is the only way to stop them."

"I see… So is that why you went to the East six years ago? A top-secret mission for the Empire?" the smuggler asked her.

Akame's red eyes fell. "Not exactly… But I guess it turned out that way."

Laurent sighed. "This isn't going to be easy for me, you know… And it's going to cost you. A lot."

"We're prepared for that," Tatsumi replied. Truthfully, he was expecting a lot more resistance from the smuggling ring, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Laurent shrugged. "Yeah, I guess if you're the emperor, you can afford it. So, is it just you four?"

"We've got three more," Tatsumi clarified. "The kings of the South and Western Countries will also be accompanying us."

Laurent's eyes widened. "Seriously? What the hell kind of mission is this?"

"Can you do it or not?" Tatsumi demanded.

The blond smuggler frowned. "I'm going to need a bit more than just money for something like this."

Tatsumi sighed. He knew it was too good to be true. "Fine, like what?"

"Hm, let's see…"

Laurent rubbed his chin in thought, and it was then that Tatsumi noticed the silver and blue dragon-shaped ring on the smuggler's middle finger.

"Wait… Is that Black Marlin?" the emperor asked, his mossy-green eyes pointedly staring at the Imperial Arms that the blond man wore.

Laurent absently glanced at the ring. "Yeah, so?"

"What do you mean 'so'? That belongs to the Imperial Navy! How the hell do you have it?"

"... I gave it to him," Akame piped up from behind Tatsumi. "It was payment for taking me to the East the first time I went. I'm sorry."

Tatsumi scowled. Just seeing the ring that killed Bulat made him seethe in anger, and it was even worse now that Akame had revealed that she had stolen the ring and given it to some smuggler.

 **Destroy it. Make them bleed.**

The sudden voice that boomed within Tatsumi's mind brought him back to reality, and he took a silent breath to calm himself. _Fuck… These intrusive thoughts certainly aren't getting any better._

"Well, since you already have an Imperial Arms belonging to the Empire, I think that's more than enough payment," Tatsumi said after a brief pause.

"Hey, come on," Laurent protested. "This was from last time! I need something else if I'm going to take even more people over. It's also going to be way more difficult for me to transport all of you now that the East has upped their security."

Tatsumi grit his teeth. He was losing patience with this man, but if he snapped, the whole plan would be ruined.

"How about this," Wave said as he stepped in. "On top of the money, we'll also sign a contract agreeing not to send the Navy after you anymore. That should be enough, right?"

 _Smart,_ Tatsumi thought. _Blue Moon is already highly-skilled at evading Navy patrols, so signing such a contract won't cause us any significant losses. On top of that, I can just ignore and nullify the contract later if I really need to._

Laurent looked hesitant to accept the proposal, but after briefly glancing at Tatsumi, the smuggler relented.

"Fine, I guess that'll do for now. It'll take me a couple hours to prepare the ship, but after that, we can leave as soon as you want. Provided I'm paid in advance, of course."

"That will all be taken care of," Tatsumi assured him. "Just get to work. We need to leave as soon as possible."

Laurent nodded. "Consider it done. Hang around in town for now. I'll send someone over when we're ready."

The group then exited the underground docks and headed back into the seaside village. People milled about on the boardwalk, and the warm night air was tinted with sea salt. The streets were lit with lanterns, and the faint caws of seagulls could be heard overhead. Despite the dangerous nature of the mission he was about to embark on, Tatsumi felt a sense of calm as he strolled through the town.

Akame walked up next to him.

"Tatsumi… I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Black Marlin."

The emperor shook his head. "Don't worry about it." Though he was annoyed that she would do something like that, there was no use in getting angry about it now.

"What are you two talking about?" Kurome interrupted as she shoved herself between the pair.

Akame gave a small smile. "Oh, it's nothing."

Kurome grinned devilishly. "I see… Private stuff, then."

Akame sighed lightly in defeat, but Tatsumi just decided to ignore her. Wave then walked up beside the trio as well.

"That went a lot more smoothly than I thought it would," the sailor commented as he looked out at the sea.

Tatsumi shrugged. "I guess. That was probably the easiest part of our mission, though. You sure you still want to go?"

Wave smiled. "Of course… Hey, aren't those your two kingly friends?"

Tatsumi looked over to where Wave was pointing to see King Grobent and King Selevien walking together. The pair of them wore brown cloaks, so they were easily able to blend into the crowd.

Grobent nodded in greeting as they approached. "How did the meeting go?"

"All set," Tatsumi replied. "We just have to wait a bit for them to finish the last of their preparations. We might even be able to leave tonight."

"That's what I like to hear!" Selevien shouted as he slapped Tatsumi on the back. "Looks like things are going pretty smoothly for now, right?"

"We should only expect things to get harder from this point," Akame interjected in her usual monotone. "It would be unwise to lower our guard until the mission is complete."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Selevien said, waving her off. "Say, you guys know any good bars in town?"

Grobent made a sound of disdain. "Fool. Did you not hear that we may be leaving tonight? You really want to be drunk for that?"

"Hell yes," Selevien replied breezily as he walked off. "Well, see you guys later. I'm ready to set sail!"

Grobent frowned. "Idiot. I will go make sure he doesn't get carried away. Incursio, alert us if anything comes up."

Tatsumi nodded as the King of the West reluctantly followed Selvien. Wave watched the scene with confusion.

"... Those guys are seriously kings?" he asked.

"Hey, if they made _me_ emperor, anything can happen," Tatsumi pointed out.

"Come on, you were a great choice," Wave argued. "It was a lot easier for the people to accept a hero like you than some bureaucrat or politician."

 _Hero? Don't make me laugh,_ Tatsumi thought bitterly. Sure, he defeated the Supreme Imperial Arms and rescued the country from destroying itself, but when it came down to it, he wasn't even strong enough to save those closest to him.

"I'm hungry," Kurome complained. "Can we go get dinner now?"

Akame nodded. "I agree."

"Sure," Wave said. "Tatsumi? You coming?"

Tatsumi blinked, his mind snapping back to the present. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm coming."

* * *

Sven grit his teeth as he slashed at the practice dummy. His blue eyes fired up with energy when he shoved his sword into the straw figure, splitting the thing in half. He hefted his sword upon his shoulders and smirked victoriously.

"Bravo, you defeated a practice dummy," Sora said sarcastically from behind him. "Someone recommend him for the Imperial Guard."

Sven frowned as he turned to face the brown-haired boy. "Fuck off. At least I'm not the one training with them."

"W-what's so bad about training with the Imperial Guard, Sven?" Tora asked as she walked up to the boys. Her clothes were dirty and a bit tattered, signs that she had been taking her training seriously.

Sven shrugged. "It's just not for me, that's all."

Sora pushed up his glasses. "Do you realize how incredibly patronizing you sound right now?"

"Do you realize how incredibly I don't give a shit?"

Sora threw back his head and sighed. "You're hopeless."

The sound of heavy footsteps then sounded throughout the practice yard as a tall, blond man in armor entered. Lord Elderrn, bodyguard to King Alerec, spared a quick glance at the trio before continuing along his path.

Sven waved at him. "Yo! Knight guy! Want to spar with me?"

Sora cringed at Sven's antics, but Lord Elderrn seemed unnerved.

"Sorry, I'm not interested," came the knight's simple reply.

Sven frowned as Lord Elderrn walked off. "Why does that guy look like he always has a stick up his ass?"

"I doubt a simpleton like you could understand someone like him," Sora said. "Lord Elderrn would dismantle you in under a second even if he were only using a fraction of his strength."

Sven stuck his sword into the dirt. "Oh, and I suppose you're saying you would fare better?"

"Not significantly better, but yes."

Before Sven could form a retort, Tora gasped.

"L-look, guys! It's General Rublon!"

The trio turned to see another man approaching from the other side of the practice yard. He was just as tall and well-built as Lord Elderrn, though he wore the white and black military uniform of an Imperial general instead of a suit of armor. He had tan skin and a strong jaw, though his face had a sort of boyish youth about it. He had medium-length black hair and gray eyes, and he carried a strange-looking sword at his side.

General Rublon and Lord Elderrn nodded politely as they passed each other. A spark of tension was also palpable in the air, but it dissipated as soon as it appeared.

Rublon smiled kindly when he saw the three teenagers.

"Good evening, kids. Not up to any trouble, right?"

Sora saluted. "No, sir. Just practicing."

"Good to hear. Keep up the good work," Rublon said before heading into the castle.

"H-he's so cool! Almost as cool as Tatsumi!" Tora gushed.

Sven scowled. "Since when did Tatsumi become cool?"

Sora rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder who would win in a fight, Lord Elderrn or General Rublon? Now that would be a sight to see…"

"W-wha…? Are they going to fight?" Tora asked worriedly, her violet eyes shimmering.

"Of course not," Sora snapped. "It's just a hypothetical question. They're both amazingly strong, so I was just curious."

"Maybe you should stop wondering about other strong people and get strong yourself," Sven said as he lifted his sword again.

"Idiot. Watching powerful fighters in action is part of getting stronger," Sora countered. "You don't even know that?"

"Huh, no wonder you were watching me fight that practice dummy," Sven replied with a smirk.

"That's it, you bastard," Sora growled as he drew his sword. "I'll take you down here and now!"

"Oooh, that's what I like to see," Sven taunted as he smiled and readied his own sword. "Bring it on!"

"You two are fighting each other now?"

The would-be combatants whirled around to see Leone wheeling herself towards them.

"What do you want?" Sven demanded.

Leone frowned. "Tch, you're as rude as ever. I just came to tell you that dinner is ready."

"You came here yourself to tell us that?" Sora questioned.

The blonde shrugged. "My doctors are always telling me how it's good for me to get out and about. Hey, did you guys see that General Rublon is back?"

Sven nodded. "He just walked through here. That means everyone but General Esdeath is back at the palace, right? What's up with that? Is something going on?"

"No, we've just decided to have the extra security while Tatsumi is gone," Leone answered. "Anyway, General Esdeath should be returning soon as well. She's just making things are alright with the Western River situation."

"Interesting," Sora remarked. "Still, calling all the generals back to the palace makes it seem like we're expecting an attack or something."

"I don't know, and I don't really care. It was Elcurus' idea, not mine. Either way, the generals are probably glad to be back home instead of out there fighting… Well, most of them, anyway." Leone frowned as she recalled a certain blue-haired general's sinister grin.

"True," Sora conceded. "Alright, then. I'm heading in. We'll finish this some other time, Sven."

Sven smiled at his friend's retreating figure. "Yeah, that's what I thought! Run away!"

Sora only waved him off as Tora followed. Leone sighed.

"Aren't you going too?"

Sven shook his head. "I've still got training to do."

The former Night Raid member couldn't help but smile. "You sound just like Tatsumi used to."

"I'm way better than Tatsumi!" Sven protested. "Well… I will be eventually!"

Leone smirked. "That's a lofty goal you got there."

"Whatever. Doubters and haters like you only fuel my passion!"

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Do you realize how stupid you sound?"

"Like I said, keep on hating," the black-haired boy stated as he hefted his sword.

Two pairs of footsteps sounded from the opposite end of the training yard, and Leone and Sven turned to see King Alerec and Lord Elderrn returning to the castle.

The old man gave the two a soft smile. "My, you two are out late today."

"Yep, I'm training," Sven declared proudly.

Alerec nodded. "I can see that. Very impressive."

"What were you doing out, King Alerec?" Leone wondered.

"Oh, nothing much. Just taking a stroll through the capital city. It is a very interesting place."

"Your bodyguard couldn't have liked you wandering out on your own," Leone pointed out.

Lord Elderrn frowned. "The King does what he wants, even if I caution against it."

Alerec laughed heartily. "Come now, don't be like that. It is rather stifling having someone guard me for every hour of the day… By the way, have either of you two received any news from Emperor Incursio yet?"

Leone and Sven shook their heads.

"He probably won't contact us until he sends his envoy back to the palace. By then he'll be on the ship," Leone said.

"I see," Alerec simply said. "Well, then I will continue to wait until that day. Good night friends."

Leone and Sven wished him goodnight as the old king and his bodyguard disappeared into the castle.

"That guy seems a bit strange," Sven observed.

"I don't think so. He's nice," Leone replied. "He seems pretty harmless."

Sven shrugged. "Don't you think it's weird how he's hanging around here instead of going back to the North? I mean, isn't he the king?"

"I guess this is more important, which makes sense if you think about what will happen if we fail this mission. If he can't go himself, he probably at the very least wants to make sure we don't fuck it up."

"Makes sense," Sven decided, then flexed his sword arm. "Anyway, I'm going to get back to training. You can go on with your midnight walk or ride or whatever."

"Alright. Have fun, brat," Leone said as she wheeled herself away.

The former assassin spared another glance at Sven, who was back to slashing at straw targets. His blue eyes shone with determination, and he grunted in exertion.

 _Tatsumi… He really does want to be like you, doesn't he?_

* * *

General Rublon smiled to himself as he entered the vast dining hall reserved for the palace's most important figures. A lush red carpet covered the floor, and expensive chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Lavish tapestries coated the golden walls, and the magical aroma of a well-cooked meal floated into his nostrils.

 _Ah, it is good to be back,_ Rublon thought to himself as he noticed Sora and Tora at one of the tables in the back.

The main table was in the center, and it was the largest one in the room. Dishes ranging from roasted turkey to pork ribs to crab cakes sat on the oaken surface, and wine and water were plentiful.

This was usually where the Emperor, Leone, and other important Imperial officials ate. However, since the Emperor was away, Leone was out, and Minister Elcurus was busy, the table was relatively empty save for two other figures, both of whom turned to look as General Rublon entered.

"So you're back," a woman with tan skin and light hair greeted.

"Welcome back, Maroc," the other diner said with a smile. She had long blonde hair and dark pink eyes, and she wore a dull orange headband.

Both women were clad in the standard white and black female Imperial General uniform.

Rublon nodded to them. "General Nuba, General Lyseyle. Has General Esdeath not arrived yet?"

"No, she's still in the West somewhere," General Nuba said as she took a bite from a chicken leg.

"She will be returning soon, however," Lyseyle clarified.

"Oh," Rublon simply said as he grabbed a plate and sat down at the table. "So… When did you two return?"

"Pirria's been here, but I got back a couple days ago," Nuba replied. "Don't really see why, though. It's not like the palace is in grave danger or anything."

Rublon shrugged as he tried to decide between the ribs and the turkey. "I don't know, I guess the Emperor just wanted the extra security while he was out. The King of the North is still here, so it would be disastrous if something were to happen to him while he was staying in our Imperial Palace."

"Hey, what do you guys think about the Emperor's mission anyway?" Pirria Lyseyle asked, her chin resting on her fist. "Don't you think one of us should have gone with him instead of staying behind to guard the palace?"

"I'm sure the Emperor can handle himself," Nuba countered lazily. "He's a former member of Night Raid, after all."

"Oh, did you hear the rumors that Akame of Night Raid is also back?" Rublon asked with an excited grin. "I think she also went with the Emperor."

"Then there's definitely no need to worry," the dark-skinned general said. "Akame was like a legend back when we were all still fighting in the Revolutionary Army."

Rublon nodded. "Yeah. That whole group was pretty legendary now that I think about it. Say, Pirria, don't you have Extase, the Imperial Arms that formerly belonged to a member of Night Raid?"

The blonde general smiled. "Yes. It's a very effective weapon."

"Not as good as Belvaac," Nuba said with a smirk. "My axe is way more powerful."

"Hey, don't forget about Shamshir," Rublon interjected as he patted the sword at his side.

Nuba snorted. "Please, that thing is only at it's best when there's a full moon out. Seems kind of inconvenient if you ask me."

"Well, it's the wielder that matters, not the Imperial Arms," Lyseyle said. "Take Lord Elderrn for example. He's pretty strong even though he doesn't have one."

"Yeah, you have a point there," Rublon conceded.

The three generals then turned around as they heard someone approaching. Minister Elcurus entered the dining hall, his blue eyes flashing in surprise as he saw the room's occupants.

"Oh, so you've returned, General Rublon," Elcurus greeted. "How were things down in the South?"

"Relatively peaceful," the black-haired general replied. "Things are going smoothly, even with the recent shift in border positions."

Elcurus nodded approvingly. "That is good to hear. I assume General Esdeath still has yet to return?"

The three nodded, and Elcurus sighed.

"That woman likes to take her time… Nevertheless, I am glad that the three of you are finally together. The palace already feels much safer with all of you here."

"Feels kind of unnecessary, though," General Nuba said, once again voicing her displeasure at the sudden recall of the country's generals.

"Unnecessary it may be, but it is always better to be prepared," Minister Elcurus counseled. "Besides, you never know what might happen."

* * *

A tall, burly man sat alone in a dark room. His eyes were closed in thought, and his hands were folded together in front of him. A knock sounded from the other side of the door, snapping the man out of his inner world.

"Come in," the man said, his voice deep and powerful.

The door opened and a lanky young man with an eyepatch entered. He had long, silver hair, and his face was sunken. A disturbing grin was etched on the man's face, and a long sniper rifle was strapped to his back.

"The last of the Empire's forces have left," the slender figure said in a raspy voice.

The burly man's blue eyes snapped open. "Then I suppose it is time. Garue, alert the rest of the Zealots."

Garue's vicious smile grew wider. "Right away, General Budo."

As Garue left the room, Budo stood up and flexed his muscles. _It is finally time. The moment has come for me to retake the Empire and cleanse it of all the incompetent Revolutionary scum that currently control it._

The former Imperial General had been forming his plan for a while now. After he was defeated by Night Raid and presumed dead six years ago, he had been on the run, trying to figure out a way to rebuild his power in order to bring both Minister Honest and the Revolutionary Army to justice.

Though his Imperial Arms had been destroyed, he was still every bit the warrior he had been years ago. Through his martial skill and his intense determination, Budo was able to gather a group of relatively competent individuals and form a plan through which he would retake the Empire.

Unfortunately for him, that plan involved his allying with the Path of Peace, the very group which he once fought against.

Immediately after the Revolution, the Path of Peace had enjoyed moderate success as the Revolutionary Army allowed the religious group to build temples and preach all throughout the Empire. However, the Lord soon grew dissatisfied as he realized that the corruption in the country had not completely disappeared.

This caused a rift between the religious organization and the new government, and the Path of Peace soon found themselves wanting more control over the way things were run. Led by their Lord, the religious group cut ties with the Revolution and formed their own faction. Since the Path of Peace did not use violent means to oppose the Empire, they were allowed to exist in relative peace. However, all that changed once Budo joined up with them.

The former general realized that he could use the Path of Peace in order to restabilize the Empire. The Lord was a man that was easily manipulated, and Budo found it simple to convince the prophet that the two needed to work together in order to purify the Empire. Though Budo himself thought the Lord and the Path of Peace were somewhat delusional, he had to admit that they both ultimately wanted the same thing: peace, prosperity, and order in the Central Country.

 _If I must ally myself with these fools for the good of the Empire, I will gladly bear the discomfort,_ the general thought to himself as he exited his room and walked out into the hallway of the lavish temple he was currently staying in.

This was the headquarters of the Path of Peace. The temple was large and spacious, and it was filled with monks and priests and all sorts of devotees. It also housed weapons, soldiers, and other essential items needed in order to launch a successful armed uprising.

Budo continued through the halls and frowned as he heard the ringing of bells followed by a series of loud chants. _Must these idiots always cause such an uproar?_

A bald man dressed in simple brown robes came running around the corner. He hurriedly rushed up to Budo, panting all the while.

The large general looked down at the man with disgust. "Speak, you imbecile."

"Great General Budo… Your presence is required in the main hall."

Budo scowled as he pushed past the man. "Where do you think I am heading, fool?"

The general's thunderous footsteps echoed throughout the temple as he made his way towards the main hall. When he got to the large set of wooden doors, he shoved them open and entered the room with a bang. All the heads turned to look at him.

The Lord, a soft-faced youth with blond hair and purple eyes, smiled kindly as Budo joined the congregation.

"Ah, General Budo, you have arrived."

Budo nodded. He glanced over at Garue, who was standing in a corner with his face contorted into a disturbing grin.

"The Empire's forces have retreated," Budo boomed, addressing the whole room. "It is time for us to make our move."

A few of the people in the room began muttering among themselves, but Budo's commanding tone shut them up.

"Silence! We must act swiftly and without reservation. We will not get a better opportunity than this. Today we will gather up our forces and march towards the town of Leedston. Once we take it, we will use it as our new base of operations and then continue up the main road until we reach the Capital. Since General Rublon has removed almost all of his forces from the area, we will most likely only have to deal with small Imperial Garrisons."

An old man cleared his throat from where he sat behind Budo. The general frowned, but allowed him to speak.

"Yes, Father Hyrus?"

"Well… Not that I oppose your plan, but… Our army is still significantly smaller than the forces an Imperial General commands. Even though General Rublon may have retreated, what if we are set upon by another commander's army?"

"We don't have to worry about that," the Lord interjected, his voice reassuring. "Our intelligence indicates that all the generals and the bulk of their forces have returned to the Capital, for reasons which are as of yet still unknown. The only Imperial General still in the field is General Esdeath, and her army is stationed around the Western River, far away from our base of operations."

Budo nodded, a bit surprised that the Lord had actually retained all that information from the previous meetings. _Maybe he is not as incompetent as he looks._

"Any other questions?" Budo demanded, his tone harsh. "If not, then we will begin preparations immediately. We will reach Leedston by nightfall."

A few of the priests looked at each other nervously, but they made no move to oppose Budo's orders.

The Lord smiled approvingly. "Good. As General Budo says, we shall now begin preparations for our march. I, along with the rest of the clergy, will travel in the rearguard. General Budo and the Zealots will lead the main forces."

The Five Zealots, along with Budo, were the main military commanders of the Path of Peace. Each was a skilled warrior in possession of an Imperial Arms, and the strength of a single Zealot was comparable to that of an Imperial General.

 _Though our army may be small, the Zealots make up for our weakness in numbers,_ Budo thought to himself as he watched the room's occupants shuffle out in order to begin their preparations. _The only problem is that each of the Five Zealots is a mindless fanatic._

Though the Zealots were technically under Budo's and the Lord's command, they insisted that they fought for the glory of God and nothing else. They were willing to go to any lengths to further the Path of Peace's religious reach, and Budo had seen firsthand just how dangerous that could make them.

 _If I am not careful, they could end up doing more harm than good,_ the general realized as he too left the room. _Nevertheless, their strength is needed for now. However, once the Revolutionary Government has been crushed… I will reform this country for the better, and free it of all these freaks and fanatics._

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _\- So Esdeath is still alive. I originally had an OC instead of her, but like I said before, I prefer to use the actual characters whenever possible and Esdeath was a good fit for that role. It has been stated multiple times in the manga that there is nothing Esdeath likes more than fighting and that she doesn't really care which side she is on, so it isn't too far-fetched for her to join the winning side after the war, especially because of her love for Tatsumi... This definitely doesn't mean Esdeath has turned into a 'good guy,' though._

 _\- General Pirria Lyseyle is also an actual character in the manga, though like General Nuba, she does not have a name so I had to come up with one._

 _\- All the Imperial Arms mentioned in this chapter are also actual ones from the manga._


	4. Kill the Crew

Tatsumi narrowed his eyes at the sunlight as he stepped out of the inner cabin and onto the deck of the ship. A mild sea breeze tussled his brown hair, and his dark red cloak shifted in the wind.

A handful of smugglers milled about on the deck, a few of them just lounging around while others hauled boxes back and forth or adjusted the ropes attached to the sails. The group had left the Central Country yesterday night, and they were now into the first day of their voyage towards the East.

"We made good time through the night thanks to the winds," Laurent said as he and Wave walked up to Tatsumi. "So far everything is going according to plan."

"Good," Tatsumi replied as he surveyed the vast, blue ocean. "How long until we arrive at the shore?"

"If the wind stays like this, probably only a couple days," the blond smuggler answered.

"... Damn, I forgot how much I missed sailing," Wave said with a smile. "How do you like it, Tatsumi? Not getting seasick, are you?"

The emperor shook his head, though he had to admit that he did feel far more comfortable on land. His last experience on a ship hadn't been very pleasant.

The door to the inner cabin then flung open as Kurome arrived on the deck. She smiled brightly at the trio.

"Good morning!"

"Where were you, Kurome?" Wave asked. "You were up pretty early this morning, but I didn't see you around."

"Breakfast," the girl simply said as she walked off to peer over the railing, captivated by the sapphire waters.

Laurent watched her with curiosity. "I saw her at the mess hall. She sure can eat a lot for such a small figure."

Wave sighed. "Yeah… Between her and Akame, we'll probably run out of supplies much sooner than we anticipated."

 _Where is Akame, anyway?_ Tatsumi wondered. He glanced around the deck before he saw her standing alone at the front of the ship.

He left Wave and Laurent and walked over to her. The red-eyed assassin turned around when she heard Tatsumi coming.

"Oh, hello, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi forced a smile. "Good morning. How's the sea looking?"

Her expression remained blank. "It's fine, I guess."

The emperor took a breath of salty sea air, silently marvelling at the peacefulness of the scene. Akame stood next to him, her eyes far away.

"It's not the cruise vacation you imagined, but at least it's something, right?" he said to Akame, trying to cheer her up. He was referring to the trip Akame had mentioned six years ago, though it was obvious that things didn't go as envisioned. Too many people had died.

She gave him a small smile, though it also wasn't genuine. "Yeah."

Tatsumi fidgeted with the wooden railing awkwardly. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "So… Where exactly will we be landing? I can't imagine we would dock at a proper port."

"A small cove by the port city of Xanji," Akame said. "That's where we docked last time, at least. It's a fairly hidden place, so we shouldn't have to worry about being spotted."

"How far is it from the capital city?"

Akame looked thoughtful. "About a week and a half if we walk… Maybe quicker. I don't remember all the details."

Tatsumi sighed as he leaned against the railing. "I wish we had a map or something, but it's impossible to get your hands on an accurate one of the Eastern Country."

"I know the general direction, so we shouldn't get too lost," Akame assured him.

Tatsumi nodded. "By the way, is the journey itself dangerous? The actual assassinations are going to be a pain, I know that already, but this whole thing would be a lot easier if we didn't have to worry about outside threats."

Akame brushed the hilt of her sword lightly. "We'll have to watch out for military patrols. Even if we masquerade as regular citizens, there's a chance we could be stopped, searched, or jailed for little or no reason. The government has a tight grip on every aspect of life there."

"Great," the emperor muttered. _Hopefully I won't have to use Incursio too much… I have a feeling that things won't turn out well for me if I keep transforming at this pace._

Akame narrowed her red eyes as she looked out at the sea. "What's that?"

Tatsumi snapped himself out of his thoughts and glanced at the small shape in the distance. _Is that… Another ship?_

The rest of the crew soon noticed the incoming vessel, some of them reaching for the weapons while others just stared in shock.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Laurent shouted as he ran up to the front of the ship.

Wave followed closely behind. "Laurent, what the hell is going on? You were supposed to find us a route that wouldn't be patrolled!"

The blond smuggler grabbed at his hair and grit his teeth. "I don't get it… This route has never been patrolled before! I don't know why they suddenly decided to send a ship this way!"

Tatsumi stared at him incredulously. "Is this what I'm paying you for?"

"Let's all just calm down," the smuggler said as he nervously twisted his Imperial Arms around his finger. "Maybe they'll just leave us alone."

"It doesn't matter. Now that they've seen us, we'll have to eliminate them," Tatsumi insisted. He couldn't afford to have their mission compromised.

Heavy footsteps thudded on the deck behind them, and the four turned to see an angry King Grobent.

"What the hell is going on here? Wait… Is that a ship?!"

"It's just a minor setback," Laurent tried to assure the king, but Tatsumi knew that Grobent would have none of that.

The bearded monarch grabbed the smuggler by the collar. "Listen up, you slimy bastard. If we are spotted by that ship, I will gut you like a fish."

"Woah, woah," Selvien said as he too arrived on the scene. "No need to get violent… Not with each other, at least. All we have to do is sink that ship, right?"

"With what?" Grobent demanded, roughly letting go of Laurent. "I don't see any cannons fitted on this poor excuse for a vessel."

"Sinking it is pointless," Akame interrupted, her tone level. "Even if we destroy the ship, their navy will know something is wrong once the crew fails to report in. We should either board their ship or wait for them to board ours, then kill all of them."

Laurent nodded. "I like that idea."

"How do we know that they won't just sink us as soon as we're in range?" Wave asked. "We may not have cannons, but I am sure they don't have that problem."

Selevien crossed his arms. "Hm… Would they really just sink a ship on sight, though?"

"It's the East. We have no idea what they might do," Tatsumi pointed out. "Wave is right. We need to board their ship and destroy them before they can reach us."

"How?" Laurent questioned. "If we take a rowboat, we might not get there in time. Even if we do, there's a high chance that they have gunners on board that would just shoot us dead before we even reach their ship."

Wave looked uneasy. "I guess I could go. If I use my Imperial Arms, I could fly or swim over in no time."

"That wouldn't be good for your body, Wave," Kurome said as she walked up to the group. The black-eyed girl didn't look particularly panicked about the situation. "We should use that option as a last resort."

"What about you, Tatsumi?" Akame asked him. "Can Incursio still fly?"

The emperor hesitated, but eventually nodded. "... Yeah. I guess I could do it."

"It's settled, then," Grobent said. "Incursio, get over there and destroy them. We will await you here, but don't expect any backup."

"Yeah, whatever," Tatsumi replied as he reached under his cloak and unsheathed the key. The silver blade glistened menacingly in the sunlight.

 _I guess I have no choice but to use this…_

"Innnnncursiooo!"

A vortex of energy surrounded Tatsumi for a split-second before fading, leaving behind a completely different form. The emperor had grown about a foot and a half in height, and he now had the scaly, muscled body of the danger beast known as Tyrant. Two sets of red eyes with black, cross-like irises flashed open, and the dragon let out a savage roar as he unfurled his leathery wings.

The spectators shrunk back in fear, shock, and respect as Tatsumi flapped his wings and took to the air. He soared about in the sky for a bit before turning invisible and heading in the direction of the enemy ship.

As Tatsumi hovered directly above the ship, he could see the Eastern crew chattering animatedly among themselves. _They must be wondering where the giant airborne creature they just saw suddenly disappeared to._

The ship itself was not unlike the smugglers' own. The main difference was that it was a bit larger, and, like Wave had thought, there was a single mobile cannon on board, pointed in the direction of Tatsumi's own ship.

The Eastern sailors were all equipped with swords, and many of them had a pistol at their side as well. They wore a dark blue uniform that seemed to be fashioned out of some waterproof material, and the image of a dark orange rising sun adorned their backs. _The insignia of the Eastern Empire_.

Tatsumi sighed to himself as he mentally prepared to slaughter the crew. He hovered in the air over the ship, still invisible. The Eastern sailors down below had no idea what was about to happen to them.

 **Destroy them! Feast on their flesh!**

A searing pain shot through Tatsumi's head as the words echoed throughout his mind. The emperor shut his red eyes in pain in an effort to dull the ache. Though he tried to block it out, Tatsumi could barely suppress the intense bloodlust that permeated to his very core.

 _What is wrong with me?... Fuck it, I have to attack now, before Incursio's invisibility wears off._

Tatsumi swooped down towards the deck of the ship, skewering an unsuspecting sailor with his invisible talons. The man was nearly shredded in half, his torso clinging to his waist only through a relatively thin chunk of flesh.

Before the rest of the crew could even react to the surprise attack, Tatsumi crushed another sailor's head with a scaly palm while tossing a third into the ocean with his tail. The remaining sailors watched the grisly scene unfold with panic, many of them screaming in surprise and fear.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"They're all dying!"

"Who's attacking?!"

Tatsumi ignored their frantic cries and continued on his path of carnage. He tore a sailor apart with his claws and then ripped another's head off with his jaws. The warm blood seeped onto his tongue, and Tatsumi felt a disturbing sense of elation as the liquid cascaded down his gullet.

 _I must have more…!_

The invisibility faded, and the few sailors that were still alive gasped in shock at the sudden appearance of a dragon on their ship. Tatsumi took advantage of their surprise and lunged at the nearest one, tearing off a chunk of the man's shoulder with his draconic teeth.

As Tatsumi chewed the flesh, he experienced a high like no other. The taste of blood and meat combined with the man's screams of pain drove him wild, and his mind buzzed with pleasure as he rushed at the next victim.

Within a matter of seconds, all the ship's crew had been completely wiped out. Tatsumi admired his handiwork, his tongue hanging out of his maw as he sniffed at the blood-soaked air. He eyed the freshly-killed corpses with anticipation, and he craned his neck down towards the nearest one.

 **That's right. Eat your fill.**

The dark voice snapped Tatsumi out of his perverse thoughts, and he managed to return to reality. He immediately recoiled from the body, a frown on his scaly face.

… _Was I seriously about to eat this corpse?_

Unwilling to ponder the question any further, Tatsumi quickly undid the transformation and returned to his human self. His 'real' body was mostly the same as it had been before the transformation, but the stench of blood on his clothes was strong. On top of that, he could still taste the flesh of the Eastern sailor in his mouth.

The emperor scowled to himself as he walked over to the mast of the ship. He began lowering the sails, a sign to his comrades that he had finished the job and that it was now safe to approach the boat.

As he finished his task and waited for his ship to arrive, Tatsumi sat down on a bench, his tired green eyes surveying the bloody scene in front of him. The entire deck had been painted red, and severed limbs and pieces of flesh were strewn about.

Looking at the macabre picture before him, Tatsumi began to wonder if he had made the right choice by coming along on the mission to the East. _Though even if I didn't, I'd probably still end up fighting them eventually. I guess the killing never stops._

He sighed to himself again, wondering why he was even thinking about such things. Killing was practically second nature to an assassin like him, and it was pointless to fret over things like morality or justice.

The smuggler's ship finally sailed up next to the now-empty Eastern one, and Tatsumi watched as the crew attached the two vessels with a series of thick ropes. Once that was done, a handful of people exited the first boat and leapt onto the Eastern ship.

Laurent let out a low whistle as he stepped onto the bloody deck. "Nice work, Emperor."

Wave joined the smuggler. "Wow, they didn't seem to have put up much of a fight… Though I can't blame them since they were fighting a dragon of all things! I had no idea you could transform like that, Tatsumi!"

The emperor shrugged as Akame, the two kings, and Kurome joined the group on the new ship. "Incursio has essentially fused with my body, so this is just how my Imperial Arms works."

Kurome observed the dead bodies with morbid curiosity. "It definitely looks like a danger beast came through here, that's for sure."

"I'm going into the inner cabins to check for any survivors," Akame said. "I will also search for maps or anything else that may be useful to our mission."

Laurent nodded. "Good idea. I'll also have my men take some supplies from the lower decks in the meantime. The rest of us will wait for you here."

* * *

Akame cautiously glanced around the narrow hallway. The inner cabin of the Eastern ship was remarkably similar to her own ship's interior, consisting primarily of a series of hallways lined with small cabins for the sailors on either side.

The red-eyed assassin slowly moved towards the first door on the left. With controlled patience, Akame twisted the doorknob and opened the door, revealing an empty space with nothing but a bed, a small nightstand, a toilet, and a sink.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Akame left the small cabin and moved to check the other rooms. As she made her way down the hallway and found empty room after empty room, she began to think of Tatsumi.

 _I had no idea that his bond with Incursio had grown so strong… The fact that he is now capable of transforming fully into the Tyrant danger beast is incredible._

Though Akame was impressed by Tatsumi's new ability, she also found it a bit disturbing to watch her friend transform into a monster. The image of the mangled bodies of the Eastern sailors flashed across her mind, and she wondered if the Tatsumi from six years ago would have been able to kill in such a brutal manner.

 _I guess he really has changed…_

She felt a pang of regret course through her. While she was busy running away from her problems, Tatsumi, Leone, and Najenda were the ones who had to stay behind and clean up the mess that the Revolution had made, and it was evident that the task had taken a heavy toll on all three of them.

Still, there was a reason why Akame left on that day six years ago. After losing all her friends in the Elite Seven and then seeing almost all her comrades in Night Raid die, Akame found that she couldn't handle anymore of the emotional pain. Though she had been trained to counter those feelings, there comes a certain point where the human mind can only take so much stress.

In an effort to save herself from more pain, she had tried to cut off all remaining ties with others. However, soon after she did so and fled to the East, she knew that she had made a mistake. Despite her attempts to forget about Night Raid, she found that she was unable to stop thinking about her former comrades.

After her long journey had ended and she had returned to the Central Country, Akame came to the realization that she should value the bonds she had instead of attempting to bury them. She only hoped that it wasn't too late now to do so.

Once she had finished searching all of the crew cabins, Akame made her way towards the back of the ship where the captain's quarters should be. She had seen a corpse with a long, dark blue coat and an extravagant hat lying dead on the main deck, so she assumed that Tatsumi had already killed the captain. Nevertheless, it was very possible that the captain's quarters contained some important documents that could be useful to them.

Akame approached the door and moved to open it. To her surprise, she was met with resistance as she tried to turn the doorknob.

 _It's locked... Is someone in there, or did the captain just lock it from the outside as a precaution when he spotted our ship?_

The assassin frowned as she stared at the locked door. She didn't have anything she could use as a lockpick, and she was fairly certain that even if she did, the person inside would be able to tell that someone was trying to pick open the door.

 _Assuming there even is someone in there._

Akame decided that her best option was to simply force the door open. If no one was in there, then it wouldn't matter how she opened the door. If someone was waiting inside, then at the very least the sudden entrance would give them less time to react.

The red-eyed girl put one hand on Murasame's hilt as she flexed her right leg in preparation. With a swift kick, Akame kicked open the door with a bang, breaking the lock and nearly sending the wooden door flying off its hinges.

Her sword came sliding out of its sheath as she noticed a figure crouched in the corner of the room. It was a boy that appeared to be in his teens, and he had short black hair and glasses. He was dressed in the same uniform as the other Eastern sailors.

"P-please don't hurt me!" the boy cried as he trembled in the corner. "D-don't feed me to that m-monster! I'm just the cabin boy!"

Akame regarded the boy with cool, red eyes. She noticed that the cabin boy had a pistol on his belt, though he made no attempt to reach for it.

 _I can't let him go free, that's for sure… Though I suppose we could keep him as a prisoner. We can definitely afford it since we're taking extra supplies from this ship, and he might be a good source of information._

"Put your weapon on the desk and go and stand in that corner," she ordered, her voice cold and impersonal. "If you even make one threatening move, I'll kill you."

The boy whimpered as he did as he was told. Now that the cabin boy was out of the way, Akame was free to survey the room for anything useful. Surprisingly, the captain did not seem to have much of value in his office. Aside from a few personal effects, the captain only possessed the most barebones of items required for commandeering a ship.

"T-the captain kept something in that bottom drawer over there," the boy suddenly said, pointing at the desk. "It might be important, I don't know!"

Akame narrowed her eyes at the cabin boy. _This could be some sort of trap. Either that or he's trying to curry favor with his new captors._

"Don't move," she told the boy as she gingerly began opening the drawer.

To her relief, nothing out of the ordinary happened when the drawer slid open. Inside was a rolled up piece of parchment, and Akame slowly undid the binding and found what appeared to be a map.

Her red eyes widened. _This is… This is a map of the East's Imperial Palace!_

Before she could even begin to wonder why a random ship's captain had a map of the palace in his quarters, the boy lunged at the desk and grabbed his pistol.

"I never disobey orders! You'll never take me alive!" the sailor shouted as he pointed the gun at Akame.

Despite the surprising turn of events, Akame kept her cool. Before the boy could fire a single shot, the assassin swung her sword and cleanly chopped his hand off, the appendage and the pistol clattering onto the floor. The boy was unable to even utter a cry of pain before Murasame's poison consumed him.

 _Fool,_ she thought as she eyed the dead boy. _I would have let him live if he hadn't attacked me. Was he given specific orders not to be captured alive? Does that mean that this crew knew that they would encounter us?_

Akame looked at the map again, then at the body. _I should share this with the rest of the group._

Akame walked back up towards the main deck. When she entered into the sunlight again, she found the same group waiting, though a couple smugglers now milled around on the deck as they hauled supplies back to the other ship.

"Find anything useful?" Wave inquired.

She held up the map. "It's a map of the Eastern Country's Imperial Palace."

"What?" Tatsumi asked as he stood up excitedly. "You found that on this ship?"

Akame nodded as she handed the map over to him. "There was also one last sailor down there. He pointed the map out to me and then tried to attack me, so I had to kill him."

"Sounds like he wanted you to find it," Kurome said as she watched Tatsumi and the other two kings study the map intently.

Akame hadn't thought of that possibility. "I assumed he told me about it in order to distract me and create an opening… But he also could have achieved that without pointing out the map specifically."

"Now why would he want you to find that map…?" Wave asked, his blue eyes thoughtful. "Maybe it's a trap. It could be a fake."

"That's the most likely possibility," Tatsumi interjected. "The map itself doesn't look fake or anything, but I don't see any other reason why an ordinary ship would be carrying a map of the Imperial Palace, especially since the place is shrouded in secrecy."

"The sailor also said that he was 'ordered' not to be taken alive," Akame said. "It seems to me that the East knew we were coming and deliberately sent this ship our way. This further points to the possibility that this map is a trap."

"Based on that information, it's quite obviously a trap," Laurent said. "... But what if it isn't? I mean, if the map is a fake, then this whole scenario is set up terribly by the East. Even based on the limited information we have, we were able to deduce with almost one-hundred percent certainty that this map is leading us into a trap. Surely the East would have expected that we come to this conclusion, right? It's not as if they're stupid."

Selevien nodded. "He has a point. It's like the East isn't even trying to fool us. They left clues everywhere."

Grobent shook his head. "That's all well and good, but what are you trying to say, then? If the East expected us to realize that this is a fake map, then what was the point of even planting it on the ship? Are you saying that the map is actually real?"

"I'm confused," Wave said with a frown.

Akame's red eyes lit up in realization. "Actually… It's more likely that this is the real map."

"What? Why would they deliver the real map right into our hands?" Grobent asked.

"Ah, I see," Tatsumi said as he nodded. "The East knew that we would realize that the map was fake, and they also knew that we would figure out that the clues pointing towards it being a fake were too obvious."

"Okay, so if they knew all that, then they would assume that we would think it is real, right?" Wave summed up. "So if they knew that as well, then how can it be a real map? It has to be fake!"

"Exactly," Tatsumi said, further confusing the former Jaeger.

Wave frowned. "So… It's fake?"

"No, it's real," Akame answered as Tatsumi nodded in agreement.

Wave's jaw dropped. "What the hell?"

"Yeah, I'm lost, so I'm just going to leave now," Laurent conceded as he began walking off. "Just tell me when you guys get this straightened out."

"Listen up, stupid Wave," Kurome began. "The map is real. The East planted the map on their ship, knowing we would find it and think that it's fake. However, they also knew that we would realize that the clues pointing toward the map being a fake were incredibly obvious, leading us to believe that the map is in fact a real map. Following me so far?"

Wave nodded dumbly.

"Good. So, now the East believes that we think the map is real. Since they know that we will assume the map to be real, they should have planted a fake map on the ship, right?"

"Right…" Wave said.

"Wrong," Kurome said. "They assumed that despite the evidence, we would still end up thinking the map is fake."

"What… But why?"

"Because of what the sailor Akame killed said," Tatsumi interrupted. "If you recall, the sailor said that he wouldn't be taken alive. He was given specific orders not to be taken alive, precisely because the East does not want us to interrogate any of their crew members for information. Based on the sailor's last words, we know that the East values its secrecy and therefore would never risk handing a real map of the palace to the enemy."

Wave nodded slowly. "I see… That makes sense. So why are we assuming the map is real, then? Everything you just said points to it being a fake."

"Think about that, Wave," Kurome chided. "Why would the sailor shout that he was given specific orders not to be taken alive? Why would he verbally convey that to us?"

Wave was silent for a moment before his eyes grew wide with realization. "... Because he was ordered to say it! The East wanted us to hear him say that so we would think the map is fake!"

"I was beginning to think you'd never get it," Kurome said.

"I see now," Wave nodded. "If we had assumed the map is fake like they thought we would, we would have thrown it away and looked for a 'real' map when we got inside the country. However, if we thought the actual map was a fake, we would also assume that all further copies of the actual map we encountered would also be fake, preventing us from ever getting our hands on an accurate copy of the palace map. Smart."

"Glad we all understand now," Tatsumi said. "However, one last question remains: how did the East know we would be coming down this route?"

The group looked at each other uneasily, as they all knew what the only possible conclusion would be.

Tatsumi's green eyes hardened.

"... There is a traitor among us."

* * *

General Rublon took a sip of the oddly-colored wine before nodding in approval.

"See? Told you it was good," General Nuba said from across the table.

"That's actually from the Eastern Country?" General Lyseyle asked, her pink eyes wide.

"Yup."

The three generals were currently seated around the main table in the emperor's private dining hall. Four days had passed since General Rublon had joined Generals Nuba and Lyseyle at the Imperial Palace, and all four of those days had passed by rather uneventfully.

Outside of training and standard practice drills, the generals were forced to find unconventional methods of entertaining themselves. Right now they were having a sort of taste testing competition with the food items they brought back from their travels.

"Where'd you get it?" Rublon asked as he eyed the liquid. "How do you know whoever you bought it from didn't just say it was from the East?"

"Hey, you tasted it yourself. Does that taste like any wine our country could have made?"

Rublon shrugged. "I guess not."

"So, what's your entry?" the dark-skinned general asked, leaning across the table. "You better have brought something good."

General Rublon sighed as he pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket. He dropped it on the table. Inside was a brown, gelatinous slab.

The two female generals stared at the object with disgust.

"What the hell is that?" Nuba demanded.

"It's supposed to be a delicacy from the Southern Country," Rublon explained, slightly embarrassed at his entry.

General Lyseyle looked horrified. "Yeah… But what is it?"

"Who knows. Try it, it might just end up being good."

"There's no way in hell I'm trying that!" Nuba declared. "Alright, Maroc, you finished last. I think it's safe to say that my wine gets first place while Pirria's exotic cheese gets second."

Rublon crossed his arms as he looked down at his entry. "Come on, you guys didn't even give it a chance!"

The sound of a throat being cleared caused the three generals to turn around. Prime Minister Elcurus stood in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," the blue-haired man said as he reached into his robes and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. "An urgent message has come for you, General Rublon."

The young general took the paper and unfurled it, his eyes brimming with curiosity. However, his expression quickly changed to one of shock once he finished reading it.

"What!" he declared. "This isn't possible! There must be some mistake!"

"What does it say?" Nuba asked excitedly.

Pirra peeked over Rublon's shoulder, reading the message before the black-haired general could pull away.

"Wow, the Path of Peace has taken over Leedston?" she said with surprise.

"The Path of Peace?" Nuba repeated, her golden eyes wide with disbelief. "You mean that group of religious nuts?"

"It appears we underestimated their resolve," Elcurus cut in, his tone serious. "General Rublon, you will need to leave immediately in order to remedy this problem."

Rublon clutched the paper angrily. "But how… How did they of all people defeat the Imperial Garrison that was stationed there! They have no army!"

"Evidently, they do," Nuba pointed out. "You messed up big, Maroc."

General Lyseyle shook her head disapprovingly. "Not good."

Rublon frowned. "Alright, shut up and stop complaining. I'll take care of this quickly."

The gray-eyed general then stormed out of the room, his hands balled into fists and his jaw tight.

"Damn, he looked pissed," Nuba observed after Rublon left.

"I would be too if that happened in my sector," Pirria pointed out.

Elcurus sighed. "This comes at such an inopportune time. The good news is that General Esdeath has finally returned."

Nuba snorted as she leaned back in her chair. "That's what passes for good news nowadays?"

"Well, she is on our side now," Lyseyle pointed out. "At least she can replace General Rublon's presence here at the Palace."

"She's not on anyone's side," the silver-haired general retorted. "If it strikes her fancy, she'll turn on us in a flash."

"Be that as it may," Elcurus interrupted. "She is still an esteemed Imperial General, just as you two are. So please, try to get along."

* * *

Esdeath smirked as she looked up at the gateway to the Imperial Palace. _Home at last._

The rest of her army was busy reporting in at their respective barracks, but she figured that she should alert the Prime Minister to her arrival before she did anything else. The blue-haired general straightened her cap as she strode into the palace.

As Esdeath walked into the lavish castle, she noticed General Rublon stomping away in the opposite direction. The black-haired general did not even stop to greet her as he marched past, which she thought was strange. Though she wasn't exactly well-liked by the new military and governmental officials, General Rublon had always been nothing but polite to her.

 _Something is clearly bothering him,_ she decided as she continued into the palace.

She passed by the throne room, which was currently empty save for a pair of Imperial Guards. She smiled to herself as she imagined Tatsumi sitting on the throne. _Oh, Tatsumi… I wonder where you are right now._

Seeing as Minister Elcurus was not in the throne room, Esdeath guessed that he was most likely in his office.

 _On the other hand, it is about dinner time. Perhaps he is in the dining hall._

Since she was closer to the emperor's dining hall, Esdeath decided to check there first.

She climbed a set of stairs before arriving at the double oaken doors. Just as she was about to enter, the doors flung open and Minister Elcurus emerged from within. The Prime Minister's blue eyes widened in surprise as he saw her.

"Oh, General Esdeath! We were just discussing your arrival."

"Were you?" Esdeath replied. "Where is General Rublon going?"

"Well, there was a small problem in the Southern Sector. Apparently the Path of Peace has staged an armed rebellion, so General Rublon has gone to put it down."

Esdeath grinned. "I see. Does he need reinforcements?"

Elcurus shook his head. "He will be fine on his own. You are needed here."

The blue-haired general frowned. "Fine… At any rate, the situation with the Western River has been resolved. I made sure that the Western patrols around the river knew that Central citizens would be allowed to utilize the waterway."

"Er, good job, I suppose," Elcurus replied, a bit worried about what she meant by 'made sure.' "Well, thank you for reporting to me. You are free to move about the palace grounds until your assignment has changed."

The Minister then left hastily. Esdeath glanced at his retreating figure with disdain. _I can see why Tatsumi doesn't like him… Still, he's a vast improvement over Honest._

The icy general decided to head into the dining hall. She hadn't eaten anything since morning, and now that she had reported in, there wasn't much left for her to do.

When she entered the room, she was greeted with the sight of Generals Lyseyle and Nuba.

"Oh, you're back already?" General Nuba stated. "Elcurus wasn't kidding when he said you were close by."

Lyseyle smiled politely at Esdeath, but the blue-haired general knew that the gesture contained no warmth.

"I heard there is trouble in the South," Esdeath said. "Why are the three of us sitting in the palace?"

Nuba shrugged. "Don't ask me. It's the Minister's orders."

"I'm sure Rublon can handle himself," Lyseyle said. "It would probably be overkill to send more than one army."

"Overkill isn't a bad thing," Esdeath replied with a savage grin.

Nuba sighed. "Sit down, Esdeath. You're violent when you're hungry."

The ice general frowned but sat down at the table. She gave an inquisitive glance to the blob of brown in a plastic bag that rested on the surface of the table.

"That's something General Rublon brought back from the South," Lyseyle told her. "He says it's a delicacy, but you probably don't want to eat it."

Esdeath scowled in disgust as she pushed the bag away. "So… The three of us are just going to sit in the palace like housewives while Rublon and the Emperor are out fighting?"

"To be honest, I feel the same way as you," Nuba replied as she took a sip of her wine. "However, there is nothing we can do about it. Rublon has to clean up his own mess, and the Emperor specifically wanted to go alone."

"He's not alone, though. I heard that Akame of Night Raid returned and went with him," Esdeath said, her tone cold.

"Ah, that's right. You two are mortal enemies, aren't you?" Nuba asked with a teasing smile. "Well, you better learn to play nice. You guys are on the same side now."

Esdeath smirked. "I didn't say anything about her being my enemy… Though I would love to fight her again if I had the chance."

The doors to the hall swung open, revealing two figures. An old man wearing a long, dark blue robe and a blond knight entered.

"Well, if it isn't General Esdeath," the old man said with a bright smile. "I have always wanted to meet you."

Esdeath regarded the two with her cool, blue eyes. "Who are you?"

"Ah, yes. I am King Alerec of the Northern Country, and this is my personal guard, Lord Elderrn. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The ice general raised an eyebrow. "King of the Northern Country? What are you doing here, then?"

"Oh, right, no one told you," Pirria Lyseyle said to Esdeath. "King Alerec will be staying here until we receive word of the Emperor's safe departure."

"Is that necessary?" Esdeath surveyed the two Northerners. Her former tribe had been wiped out by a raiding party from the Northern Country, and though she had no desire for revenge, she still felt a sense of discomfort at being near the two.

Alerec chuckled. "Probably not, but it would put my mind at ease to know that my kingly companions have embarked on their journey. If I can't go myself, the least I can do is make sure that things go smoothly up until they are outside of the continent."

Esdeath then turned her cold gaze to the long-haired knight. Lord Elderrn returned her look with a blank stare, his golden eyes devoid of any discernible emotion.

The blue-haired general smirked to herself. _This one is dangerous, I can tell._

"And your concern requires you to stay in our castle?" Esdeath asked the Northern King. "It seems to me that you may have other motives."

Generals Nuba and Lyseyle wore expressions of shock at Esdeath's implication, but King Alerec merely smiled. His blue eyes flashed briefly.

"I assure you, I am but a feeble old man," he said, his teeth showing as his grin grew wider. "I wouldn't be able to hurt a fly."

The tension in the air was almost palpable, and a pregnant pause followed the king's words. However, the moment was broken when Esdeath rose from her seat.

"I suppose I'm not that hungry after all," the ice general said as she straightened her cap. She smiled viciously. "Feel free to stay as long as you like, King Alerec."

As Esdeath brushed past the Northerners and exited the dining hall, her smile grew wider.

 _I don't know what's going on here… But I like it._

* * *

 ** _A/N:_**

 _\- The pace of the story should start to pick up significantly after this chapter... Not sure if I can say the same for the pace of the updates, but I suppose we will see about that._

 _\- Also, looking back on it, I may have made that whole map scenario a bit too complex..._


End file.
